Swindon mental health expert Kathleen Aitken, project manager of mental health charity MIND, says Steve Holmes' case highlights how random and devastating schizophrenia can be.

A fervent campaigner to remove the stigma from the illness, she says that only a tiny percentage of schizophrenia sufferers have the potential to be a danger to others. What's more, she insists, the illness is greatly misunderstood and the term "schizophrenic" is so misleading it should be removed from the dictionary.

It is believed that schizophrenia affects one person in a hundred at least once in their life. If this statistic is right, there are 2,000 people living in Swindon who have either experienced or are living with the condition.

Kathleen said: "But that isn't to say that there are hundreds of people in the borough walking around with axes."

She stressed that rather than the psychotic maniacs commonly portrayed in the media and in drama, many schizophrenics were able to lead normal lives, helped by the right medication.

Kathleen added: "Unfortunately, schizophrenia has been branded in the mind of the public with all sorts of negative connotations. I would like the word schizophrenia to be removed from the dictionary.

"What most people don't realise is that the illness encompasses a wide range of symptoms with degrees of severity, and with the right level of treatment by using drugs or by adopting a psycho-social approach to help them manage their symptoms, patients can lead normal lives and some go on to recover from their illness."

Schizophrenia is a complex illness with unknown origins. It distorts the senses, making it very difficult for the individual to tell what is real from what is not, and usually strikes young people, with the onset between the ages of 16 and 25. No-one really knows what causes it. Some scientists believe it could be due to problems in brain development and that a resulting weakness in the brain can be triggered in later life, maybe by a cluster of events, like a bereavement, divorce or losing a job, and cause the sufferer to have a schizophrenic 'episode'.

Symptoms vary. They can range from confused thoughts and withdrawal from normal life to the more extreme paranoia and voices heard in the head. Some people may have only one episode of schizophrenia in their lifetime. Others may have recurring episodes, but lead relatively normal lives in between. A small percentage may have severe symptoms for a lifetime.

Kathleen said: "Obviously some people are badly affected and they should be given the best quality support.

"I do not want to be attacked and I would not want any member of my family to be attacked by someone who is mentally ill, and I am not suggesting that people who could present a danger should be free to walk the streets this is why it is important for them to receive the very best quality of care.

"As well as medication and many people benefit from it, while some don't sufferers need care, support and information."