VISITORS to Huntingdonshire District Council s internet site will no longer be lost for words. Working with Hunts Society for the Blind, the council has installed a speech-enabling service to its website. It makes it more easily accessible to people with

VISITORS to Huntingdonshire District Council's internet site will no longer be lost for words.

Working with Hunts Society for the Blind, the council has installed a speech-enabling service to its website.

It makes it more easily accessible to people with limited vision, dyslexia, low literacy levels, learning disabilities or English as a second language.

The "listen to page" service, which reads web content aloud, can be accessed by anyone browsing the council's site, through a simple click on the "listen to page" button in the top right of each page.

The service is automated and there is no requirement on the web visitor to have any pre-installed software, HDC said.

Councillor Mike Simpson, executive councillor responsible for information technology, said: "We take our accessibility responsibilities very seriously, and want to be at the forefront in this field. We are proud to be adopting this new technology for the benefit of users of our site.

"The clarity of the delivered speech is excellent and the user will find that the service is simple to operate. These were major factors in deciding to offer this service."

Helen Bosworth, secretary at Hunts Society for the Blind, said: "This way of reading a website will mean that anyone who is visually impaired will have access to the district council website.

"In fact, it will make the site more accessible to many people.