Great reception for charity’s 90th

Blind veteran Simon Brown and gold medal-winning Paralympian sprinter Souleyman Bah helped mark the 90th anniversary of Maidstone’s British Wireless for the Blind Fund.

Simon was a corporal in Iraq when he sustained facial injuries during a rescue mission in Basra, while Souleyman has a rare eye condition called RP.

Both were in Albion Place earlier this month to celebrate the charity’s birthday. It has been providing free, specially adapted radios to the visually impaired since 1928. They are bright yellow, feature raised markings and deliver very high quality sound.

Saul Watson, communications officer, said: “Many of our users have described the radios as the clock or newspaper they can no longer see. People don’t have to wait for their friend or relative to come round and help, they can do it themselves.” .

The organisation has recently developed an app which audibly guides users through tablet features to make audio material, such as podcasts, accessible.