A DURHAM charity that helps the blind and partially-sighted has been given a cash boost.

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales, one of the country's largest grant-giving trusts, has donated £9,644 to Communication at Home Using Accessible Technology and Training (Chatt).

The charity aims to help visually impaired people maintain or increase their independence and social confidence by improving their ability to communicate with others.

The charity helps by providing equipment, such as computers with a synthesised voice that reads out what has been written, as well as offering training and assistance in using the equipment.

The grant will enable the group to buy office and maintenance hardware to adapt standard computers that have been donated. The number of changes needed depends on the user and how poor their sight is.

Chatt chairman David Wilkinson said: "The grant will enable us to take the project further and offer our clients a much better service.

"As a user of the equipment myself, I can testify how much it helps with communication."

Ian Towler, of Lloyds TSB Durham branch, said: "Standard computer shops just cannot give advice for this kind of specialist equipment so this is a very valuable resource for the visually impaired people of Durham. We wish them every success with the development of the service."

This year, the Lloyds TSB Foundation has received £33m to distribute to registered charities throughout the country, including more than £1.3m for causes in the North- East.