Court hears how traumatised woman refuses to sleep in a bed

A vulnerable young woman who came here from Africa as a teenager and spent about two years in direct provision has been so traumatised she still refuses to sleep in a bed, the president of the High Court has heard.

Her complex disorder involved intense fasting over three years, apparently for religious reasons, resulting in "alarming" weight loss requiring her to be tube fed at stages, while excessively lengthy periods standing up have resulted in her being treated for leg problems.