Woman has a phobia of knees

A bride with a fear of knees is hoping she'll be cured by her wedding day. Sarah Lister has had the strange phobia since seeing her father dislocate his knee when she was 11.

The 25-year-old gets flustered, angry and sweaty at the sight or touch of anyone's kneecap.

Her fear, known as genuphobia, has made trips to the beach, nights out with friends or watching her fiancé Chris Bayliss playing football an ordeal. Even at her wedding dress fitting she feared her knees would be touched.



Ms Lister, from Gosport, Hampshire, said: 'In the summer it is worse because I don't feel like I can go to the beach or the pub.

'I worry that if I saw someone in a bathing costume or a short skirt I would just freak out. I quiver in fear if anybody tries to touch my knees. I am fine with my fiancé, my immediate family and a select group of friends, but strangers' knees still hold a lot of fear for me.'

Her condition has eased over the years and Ms Lister believes she can kick her phobia ahead of her wedding next May. She said: 'It would be a dream to be able to sit on the beach on my honeymoon and have no fear.'