A BRIGHT student is playing a leading role in helping an international consortium make the Internet more accessible to the disabled.

At 22 years old, University of Sunderland student Tom Croucher is the youngest person and the only undergraduate involved in the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Gateway - hailed a remarkable achievement for someone his age.

The BSc (Hons) Computing student is an editor of the WAI - the main access point for the International World Wide Web Consortium.

It consists of more than 400 multinational companies, universities and government agencies, which provide standards for the Internet and ensures that the web is accessible to as many people as possible, including those who are visually or physically impaired.

Mr Croucher joined the WAI after impressing senior staff with his work on the university's Internet content management system, set up to make the Internet more accessible to disabled students.

Mr Croucher said: "The work of the WAI has improved the quality of the internet experience for people with disabilities.

"This is important as the web can provide a significant improvement in the standard of living to someone with a disability."

The WAI is working on a number of areas to help make the Internet more accessible.

They include increasing accessibility for keyboard users - as many people with physical or visual disabilities are unable to use a computer mouse.

It is also working on text explanations to go alongside Internet graphics and images, so that visually impaired people's speaking computers can tell them what is on the screen.