Experts have shared the rare warning signs of a stroke, after Prue Leith yesterday revealed she was rushed to hospital after a terrifying scare.

The former Bake Off judge, 86, was on holiday with her husband John Playfair when her vision became 'a bright circle of flickering, coloured lights'. 

While she had suffered with migraines since the age of nine, and had experienced visual disturbances before, Prue was horrified to find her speech then descended into an 'incomprehensible jumble of disconnected words'. 

Having never suffered the symptom before, John rang Prue's doctor, fearing that she was having a stroke.

After a CT scan at hospital, and 10 hours of tests, doctors confirmed that Prue had not had a stroke - with her symptoms instead caused by migraine.

But experts warn that many more Britons may be making the opposite mistake - dismissing signs of stroke as something less serious. 

Occurring when blood stops flowing to a part of the brain, starving cells of oxygen, stroke remains Britain's fourth leading cause of death, claiming around 34,000 lives every year. 

But while many people know the key symptoms under the four-letter acronym FAST – face, arms, speech, time – these other common warning signs may fall under the radar, say experts. 

Read on for the stroke symptoms that should never be dismissed...

Numbness that affects the hand, arm, leg or part of the face are very common.

The symptom is often due to nerve compression, especially if it occurs while sitting or lying down, as this can put pressure on nerves, Professor Martin Dennis, an expert in stroke medicine at the University of Edinburgh, told the Daily Mail previously.

However, if sudden numbness occurs in the face and arm or the arm and leg, 'at the same time', this could be a cause for concern.

Not everyone will experience all the signs of stroke.

But if you experience numbness alongside any one of those under the FAST acronym, help should be sought.

Stroke can cause blurred vision, or loss of vision in one eye or both eyes – a problem reported by Prue.

However, this symptom may not be as well recognised as facial weakness.

This is despite a 2017 study, published in the journal Stroke, concluding that, of the one in seven stroke sufferers who do not experience FAST symptoms, four in ten list visual problems as one of their stroke symptoms.

'Loss of sight to one side or double vision which disappears when closing either eye are both important symptoms of stroke,' Professor Dennis said.

He said: 'Loss of vision in one eye - either transient, or lasting more than a day - may indicate a problem with the circulation to the eye and indicate a risk of stroke.

'However, it would not require treatment with thrombolysis or thrombectomy.

'Sometimes patients with stroke may suddenly be unable to use a TV control, or a household appliance, or be unable to wash, or dress for no apparent reason.'

Professor Dennis cautioned: 'Sudden inability to be able to do things should not be ignored.'

Figures show that one in seven stroke patients don't even experience any FAST symptoms.

And while not a symptom of a stroke itself, someone who appears to be suffering from memory loss may actually be experiencing the life-threatening condition.

Confusion and difficulty understanding speech are signs of a stroke, which to a normal person, may seem like someone has lost their memory.

Therefore, sudden memory loss can appear to be a 'rare' sign of a stroke, according to Professor Dennis.

'People who develop aphasia or dysphasia (difficulties understanding language) will jumble their words, and may not be able to say anything, or understand anything,' Professor Dennis said.

'Their reading and writing may be affected. They may be described by lay peoples as being confused or having loss of memory because they cannot answer questions.'

Vertigo – the sensation that you, or the environment around you, is spinning – is a symptom caused by an array of health conditions.

It is often harmless and the sign of an ear infection or headache.

But, when coupled with double vision, weakness or clumsiness of the limbs and slurred speech, it can be a sign of a stroke.

'Isolated vertigo is very common and usually is due to a minor problem of the balance system in the ear,' Professor Dennis said.

One 2016 study even suggested that between 15,000 to 25,000 people annually who suffer a stroke and present with dizziness or vertigo symptoms, may suffer serious or potentially preventable harms from initial misdiagnosis.

A separate 2017 study suggested four in ten stroke victims, who did not experience typical symptoms, said they suffered from vertigo.

While uncommon, a sudden, severe headache may indicate signs of a stroke.

Often associated with migraines, it could in some rarer cases 'be a feature of a subarachnoid or intracerebral bleed', Professor Dennis said.

A subarachnoid haemorrhage, an uncommon type of stroke, is bleeding in the space around the brain.

This bleeding between the thin layers of tissue that cover the brain can often cause serious side effects, including disability or can even prove to be fatal.

Professor Martin James, consultant stroke physician at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust in Devon, told the Daily Mail previously that while it is not often a stroke sign, it is 'a medical emergency nonetheless, for fear of subarachnoid haemorrhage'.

However, Dr Joseph Kwan, senior stroke physician at Charing Cross Hospital in London, also noted that a headache is not a specific enough symptom to include in the FAST list as it would result in 'too many false alarms'.

While it is 'very very rarely a sign of a stroke on its own', Professor James cautioned, difficulty swallowing should still be taken seriously.

'Food or more often liquids going down the wrong way, causing the person to choke,' may indicate someone is experiencing a stroke, Professor Dennis said.

It is 'almost always associated with other stroke symptoms such as weakness of the limbs or face, or problems with slurring or jumbling of speech,' he added.

This is often associated with severe strokes, according to the Stroke Association.

'Swallowing is a complicated task that needs your brain to coordinate many different muscles,' Professor Dennis added.

'If your stroke damages the parts of your brain that do this, then this will affect your ability to swallow. Swallowing problems are also known as dysphagia.'

Dysphagia is thought to affect up to 15 million adults in the US and around four million in the UK.

Julie Bouverie, chief executive at the Stroke Association, told the Daily Mail previously: 'Experiences of stroke and stroke symptoms can vary from person to person, however if something doesn't feel right or if you spot the signs of a stroke in you or someone else, it's vital to call 999 straight away.

'This lines up getting scanned and seen by a stroke specialist as soon as possible when you arrive at hospital giving you or a loved one the best chance of survival and recovery.'