A VERRUCA older than most Clackmannanshire residents has been finally cured after nearly six decades, thanks to pioneering technology by an Alloa-based company.

Identified only as Jane, a 72-year-old retired teacher is believed to have been one of the longest-suffering verruca patients ever.

The massive and persistent lesion has blighted her life since 1964, meaning the verruca was 56 years old when her treatment ended two years ago. It has shown no sign of returning since then.

When the grandmother first developed the condition, The Beatles were taking the US by storm, Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston to become heavyweight boxing champion of the world and Harold Wilson was prime minister after a general election victory over Alec Douglas-Home.

And the moon landing was still five years away.

Jane, who celebrated her gold wedding anniversary two years ago, has lived with the condition longer than with her husband.

And while Alloa-based health tech firm Emblation has not quite found a cure for the latter problem yet, their Swift device made the painful verruca disappear after 10 treatments.

Jane, mother of two and grandmother of five from Essex, said: “When I was informed that my verruca had completely disappeared and no further treatments were required, it felt like a miracle.

“I was overjoyed to say goodbye to the verruca that had been with me since 1964.”

The giant verruca often left the keen line dancer in agony and she admitted she “had to fight through the pain” as a result.

“After trialling numerous unsuccessful treatments such as cryotherapy and acid, it was apparent that no treatment was working and would actually sometimes make it worse,” she continued.

“It was a stubborn verruca that would routinely get thicker due to friction. I pretty much lost all hope when my previous podiatrist told that ‘it was never going to go’.”

Jane started being treated by Matthew Bland, co-owner in Essex Podiatry, whose clinic was an early adopter of the Swift technology, which is being rolled out globally as reported in the Advertiser last week.

The technology works by delivering a highly controlled dose of energy into the tissue, creating heat which stimulates an immune response.

Matthew said: “I had never seen anything like this in my 24 years of podiatry.

“It is not uncommon for a patient to have had a verruca for 10 or even 15 years, but over 50 years is unheard of.”

Speaking of Jane's condition, he added: “It covered most of the ball of her foot and toes, the patches were huge.

“A verruca, especially one of this size, can cause all sorts of immobility issues, which can then have a severe effect on a person’s circulation.”