A 22-year-old man has told how a rare skin condition leaves him in constant agony – but he refuses to let it rule his life.

James Dunn, from Whiston, Merseyside, was born with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB).

It is a rare skin condition that causes the skin to blister and tear at the slightest touch, much like having third degree burns.

He is bandaged from the neck down to protect his skin but also gets blisters in his eyes and throat, which can cause him serious pain.

However he has defied the odds and become an inspiration by managing to hold down a job, drive and even play football.

Meet the inspirational man who suffers from a skin condition that is the equivalent of third degree burns that leaves him in constant pain - but still lives life to the full

Painful: James’ skin condition is the equivalent of third degree burns

James said: “Sometimes when I get blisters in my eyes I can be in my bedroom for days on end because I just can’t see anything – it’s agony.

“I take morphine every four hours to stop the pain which makes things better and if I didn’t look on the bright side I’d probably just be depressed.

“I won’t let my skin condition define who I am – I want to lead a normal life and that’s exactly what I’m doing, my motto in life is YOLO.

“I want to travel the world instead of feeling sorry for myself, that’s kind of my bucket list.”

Meet the inspirational man who suffers from a skin condition that is the equivalent of third degree burns that leaves him in constant pain - but still lives life to the full

Burns: The condition leaves him in constant agony

James has already travelled parts of the world including Las Vegas and South Africa.

He plays power chair football for the Bolton Bullets and works one day a week as a HR administrator.

James’s genetic skin condition means any trauma or friction to his skin can cause painful blisters – meaning he is constantly in bandages which he take up to four hours to change.

Despite his painful skin, he is living life to the max and trying raising awareness for the illness.

James said: “My number one dream as always been to sit next to a real life lion or tiger.

“I’ve seen videos and TV shows were people have had them as pets and I know that’s not possible in this country but maybe on my travels I’ll get to do that one day.

Meet the inspirational man who suffers from a skin condition that is the equivalent of third degree burns that leaves him in constant pain - but still lives life to the full

You Only Live Once: James still lives life to the full

“I’ve got a good life and I can’t complain – the unfortunate thing is there’s always someone else who is worse off than you.

“My mum is my full time carer and I’m surrounded by friends and family who will always look out for me – I feel blessed if anything.”

EB is caused by faulty genes and in most cases is inherited from one or both parents but sometimes the fault occurs spontaneously.

There are many cases when neither parent has the condition but their child does – this happens when both parents are ‘carriers’ of the faulty genes.