MORE people with vision difficulties will now be able to enjoy news from their favourite newspaper.

With thanks to a £1,140 grant from global media company Gannett, charity Tynedale Talking Newspaper, which converts the written form of the Hexham Courant to audio for those with problems with their sight, will purchase more MP3 devices to loan, free of charge, to those who rely on the spoken word.

The money was made available through the Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of Gannett Co Inc, parent company of Newsquest Media Group, which owns the Courant.

Tynedale Talking Newspaper will use the fund to purchase more specially designed audio players.

Dr Tony Newton, the organisation’s chairman, said: “I am really pleased on behalf of the talking newspaper with this wonderful grant which will help us bring the spoken version of the Courant to as many visually impaired listeners as possible.

“We are currently upgrading the free loan service of MP3 players to our listeners and this grant is a major contribution to that upgrade process.

“The Courant is an integral part of the local community and we know just how valuable it is as a means to visually impaired people to keep in touch with the local area. Every time we have our annual flag day in Hexham, people tell us their stories about how friends and relatives benefit from the service we provide, and we can only do that with the content provided by the writers at the Courant.”

Courant editor, Gemma Brown, said: “Day in, day out we hear tremendous tales of great groups and causes who do so much to make our communities better places in which to live, and this is a great example.”

The Tynedale Talking Newspaper team can be contacted (01434) 607264 or reg@ttnweb.uk.