DISABLED visitors to Durham City centre now have a guide that tells them what facilities are available for them.

The booklet, produced by the city council and the Durham City Access for All Group, lists shops, restaurants, pubs and places of interest and the facilities they have for disabled access. It also lists the gradients of the city's streets and carries useful telephone numbers.

Alice Severs, secretary of the access group, said the guide had taken two years to produce.

She said: "It can be very difficult for some people to get about. The problem can often be something very small like not leaving things in doorways.

"Durham is more accessible than people might think and there is Shopmobility where people can get scooters and wheelchairs, and The Cathedral Bus, which has made a huge difference to access to the cathedral and can carry scooters and wheelchairs.

"The guide is not just for people in wheelchairs. It is also for people who walk with sticks, are blind, partially-sighted or are deaf."

The guide is available from the city's Tourist Information Centre in Millennium Place, Claypath, Shopmobility, in the Prince Bishops Shopping Centre car park, and from council offices including Durham City Info in the Market Place.

From next month large print and on-line versions will be available.