A mother-of-two who has had a crippling fear of peas since being force-fed them at school has said her “terror” at the sight of them causes her to have panic attack-like symptoms and her phobia “stunted her childhood” as she did not want to visit friends’ houses in case they were served.
Maddy Alexander-Grout, 39, a consumer money specialist, who lives in Southampton with her husband, James, 41 and their children Ben, seven, and Harriet, four, believes her fear stems from being forced to finish her peas at lunchtime at school – when she used to “stuff peas into (her) cheeks like a hamster” and spit them out in the toilet.
