A former salesman and resident of Lancashire has been detained in a psychiatric hospital in Poland after being discovered wandering the streets of Warsaw. Matthew Evans, aged 49, is in the advanced stages of Huntington's disease, a genetic neurological disorder characterizd by dementia and motor dysfunction, apparently travelled alone to Poland earlier this month. According to sources, he was found wandering the streets and taken to hospital just hours after arriving in the city. He then discharged himself three days later and vanished on his way to the airport to fly home. Polish authorities have since found him and admitted him to a hospital until he is well enough to return home, or can be collected by representatives from British social services.

His brother Paul, who lives in Devon, has been kept informed of the developments by the Foreign Office and plans to visit Mr Evans as soon as it can be arranged. He said: "I feel so relieved that he's been found and is now being cared for somewhere safe and secure. The social services in Poland have been amazing and have really done all they can for Matthew, which is a big weight of my mind. I'm just looking forward to seeing him again."

Mr Evans, who formerly travelled the world with his sales job, lacks co-ordination and cannot walk far as he has poor balance, which has been caused by his condition. His mother died from the disease, his older brother committed suicide when he was diagnosed with the illness and his sister is being cared for in a nursing home in Devon after developing the condition.