THE office of a “talking newspaper” for blind and visually impaired people was visited by the mayor of Weymouth and Portland.

Cllr Kate Wheller visited the offices of the South West Dorset Talking Newspaper (SWDT) earlier this week to see how the service is put together by a team of committed volunteers.

The visit coincided with local newspaper week, which aims to stress the importance of local newspapers to communities across the country.

First launched in 1987, a of volunteers create a weekly the SWDT for blind and visually impaired people by recording audio clips of the area’s local news and events coming up.

The recordings, which take place at SWDT’s studio at Portland Council Offices in Fortuneswell, are then saved to a memory stick and distributed to local people. The volunteers also provide a free gadget for the recordings to be played on if a user does not have a computer.

Now, 28 years on from the first recording, the SWDT has gone from strength to strength and is now distributed across the country to former residents of Dorset who have moved away.

Cllr Wheller said: “It’s an incredible scheme and the team behind it are so professional. There is a huge amount of humour between the team and you can tell they have been working together and have been friends for a long time.

“I am sure that this service for blind and partially sighted people is very interesting, and they are now sending the memory sticks that contain the newspaper all over the country.

“As the world moves on and technology moves on and people receive the spoken word in a variety of different ways, it’s great to see that there is still a demand for this type of service and I’m sure there will be for the next few years.”

As the organisation approaches its 30th birthday, it is once again recruiting volunteers to ensure the popular service can continue.

Keith Eagleton, secretary at SWDT, said: “We were very pleased and honoured by this visit from the Mayor.

“It was good to receive her support and recognition for all the hard work put in by our band of volunteers.”

For more information on the paper, to volunteer or to receive it, contact Ann Sawtell on 01305 782602

CONTACT ME:

t: 01305 830987

e: lee.irving@dorsetecho.co.uk

Twitter: @DorsetEchoLee