DELIGHTED volunteers gathered yesterday to help welcome a charity to its new home - provided thanks to The Northern Echo.

Darlington Talking Newspaper for the Blind was forced to leave its former home because of imminent legislation on disability access.

But Newsquest North-East, The Northern Echo's parent company, stepped in to offer the charity studio and office space on the ground floor of the paper's head office, in Priestgate, Darlington.

The talking newspaper, which serves Darlington and surrounding villages, will record its first edition in the new studio, which has been fitted out with the help of local company MT Audio, on Wednesday.

The Northern Echo's building services staff worked hard to convert the rooms in readiness for the charity, and team member John Pattison was called upon by editor Peter Barron to cut a ribbon to open the studio.

The charity's old home was on the fourth floor of Darlington Arts Centre, in the town's Vane Terrace, but new rules, which come into force in 2004, state that all community groups must be accessible to disabled people.

The Talking Newspaper records items of news and information from The Northern Echo, Advertiser series and the Darlington & Stockton Times, as well as a quarterly audio version of Darlington Borough Council's Town Crier.

The tapes are sent out once a week, free, to 350 people who live or have lived in Darlington, some as far away as the Isle of Wight. The tapes are then returned to the charity, which recycles them.

Although it has a team of 45 volunteers, many more have been forced to leave because they had been unable to manage the five sets of stairs.

The charity's chairman, Paddy Dinsdale, said: "We are very grateful to Newsquest and everyone at its Darlington centre. They have made us feel welcome from the word go, and have helped us in so many ways."

Of the Talking Newspaper's new home, she said: "It means we have accessible premises in which to produce our paper.

"It is important to remember we are volunteers and none of us are young, and the fact the studio is so easily accessible is a boost to us all. It's such a joy to know we don't have to puff and pant our way up five flights of stairs."

Mr Barron said: "We want The Northern Echo to be at the heart of the communities it serves, and it seems to us that a famous newspaper and its home town's talking newspaper are a perfect fit."

Anybody interested in subscribing to the talking newspaper service, or volunteering to help, can contact the charity on (01325) 465101