Pupils in East Lancashire are set to be taught sign language in a pioneering bid to tackle prejudices about the deaf.

The scheme, believed to be one of the first of its kind, is the brainchild of Debbie Reynolds. For the last five weeks, Debbie, herself hard of hearing and employed as a communication support worker at Blackburn College, has been working with Year 5 pupils at St Paul's RC Primary School, Feniscowles.

Under her tuition, 18 students - none of whom have hearing difficulties - have been learning British Sign Language (BSL) the preferred language of about 70,000 people in the UK, including thousands of East Lancashire residents.

Following the success of this pilot project, Debbie plans to roll put her programme across the region.

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