An information and support stall was set up outside Barking Town Hall to mark World Menopause Day.

Cabinet member for equalities and diversity, Councillor Lynda Rice, was joined by the Barking and Dagenham Council for Voluntary Service to encourage women to talk about the menopause and to break the taboo around it.

According to a survey in 2017 by the British Menopause Society, 75 per cent of women say that the menopause caused them to change their life and over half say it had a negative impact on their lives.

Cllr Rice said she suffered badly and found her experience debilitating, especially the exhaustion.

Cllr Saima Ashraf said: “We need to talk about it.

“It is a taboo subject, but we need to talk about the changes our bodies go through.”

Cllr Rice runs a women’s group at the Hedgecock Community Centre in Stephen Jewers Gardens on the last Thursday of every month between 6.15pm and 7.15pm, at which she is keen for women from all backgrounds to attend and talk about issues affecting them.