Mr Bealey bought the park after his diagnosis

Steve Bealey, 49, who bought the park in November 2000, spoke to BBC Look East on World Parkinson's Day to highlight the incurable condition.

The disease, which affects 120,000 people in the UK, is a condition of the nervous system with symptoms including increasingly stiff limbs, tremors, and facial tics.

Mr Bealey was a policeman when he was diagnosed 10 years ago.

"The main thing was I couldn't write - it was a physical thing initially.

"My speech was beginning to get stumbling and occasionally I had some lapses of memory."

Facial expression

Now his right-hand side is stiff, his speech sometimes uncertain - and he looks more serious than he really is.

"My wife notices I have a very deadpan expression a lot of the time which is not because I want to but just because you do lose expressiveness with Parkinson's.

"So you have to remember to smile."

After his diagnosis, he and his wife Barbara bought the wildlife centre near Great Witchingham where they had met while working as keepers in the 1970s.

As well as their menagerie of animals, they have two children and one grandchild.

Public face

Mr Bealey makes efforts not to let his condition get in his way - but sometimes finds it hard.

"A lot of the time, particularly in public and even when you're with family, you don't want to worry them.

"You naturally don't want to be seen to be troubled, you want to be seen to be normal.

"There are certainly times you get depressed - you just can't do what you want to do.

"For somebody who's relatively young it's so frustrating."

And while he remains hopeful a cure will be found, he does not believe it is around the corner.

"Ten years ago the cure was going to be in five to 10 years' time.