THERE is still time for budding poets to support World Sight Day.

Darlington Lions have joined forces with The Northern Echo to launch a poetry competition to mark World Sight Day on Thursday, October 11.

The day aims to raise awareness of preventable and reversible blindness, which affects about 50 million people in the world.

The Lions hope to educate people as well as raise money to help eliminate blindness caused by diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma and trachoma, all of which are preventable.

To help raise awareness of the day, The Northern Echo has launched a poetry competition with writers asked to create a verse on what it would like to be blind and then to see again or what it would be like to be blind.

Poems, which should be no longer than 200 words, should be sent to The Northern Echo by Monday, September 24.

There are two age categories in the competition - five to 16-year-olds and 16-plus. Winners in each age group will be published and the poets will win prizes donated by The Lions.

Entries should be sent to Sight Day, The Northern Echo, PO Box 14, Priestgate, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1NF