Blind and partially-sighted residents of Richmond are receiving our reports thanks to the dedication of volunteer news readers.

Richmond Talking Newspaper (RTN) has been running for 41 years, delivering local news for free in audio format.

And Richmond Nub News is providing the charity with a new, dedicated source of local community stories.

Jackie Venus, a visually impaired resident who is the charity's chair, said: "Richmond Talking Newspaper is particularly important for the visually impaired community during the pandemic.

"It gives us information about local issues regarding Covid-19, what we should do, shops that are shut, places to go, and very important are roadworks that may affect us.

"It's also crucial in giving us the council's notifications, which would otherwise be delivered to residents by letter or text message that we are unable to read.

"Each week RTN goes to great lengths to keep us abreast of other interesting local and light-hearted issues to keep our spirits up and so that we feel less isolated."

Sight loss is a surprisingly common occurrence. People go to the dentist more regularly than they have their eyes checked says Valerie Munro, a producer for the talking newspaper and its vice-chair.

She described the launch of our online newspaper in June as "a gift from Heaven".

"If you want to know what's going on in Richmond, Richmond Nub News will have the story. As per your motto this really is your town in your pocket.

"The articles are beautifully written. You have beautiful pictures and we take time to describe them – the colour, who's in it, are they looking at the camera, what are they wearing?

"There was an absolute classic with a seal jumping up onto a paddleboard. We could really go into raptures describing the mood of that picture."

The talking newspaper is there for people who are visually impaired, as well as residents with other physical difficulties.

Valerie explains why the small things often make the biggest impact on their lives.

"The big stories are covered on the national news but we talk about local stuff.

"You might think holes in the road are boring but if you're forewarned that there's a hole at the bottom of your street, you can take a different route into town.

"It's our way of keeping people informed of what's going on outside the window."

How editions are recorded and delivered

The talking newspaper was forced to change the way it operates in a major way when the UK first went into lockdown in Spring.

Production was moved from a central hub to the homes of individual volunteer news readers. The group also raised £1,000 in an online fundraising drive to cover its recording costs.

In a video produced by Richmond Council, Valerie said: "We're fortunate that we are able to exploit technology to produce our recordings in a very different way.

"Now in place of the normal communal recording on a Friday, I as the remote producer will email scripts to four chosen readers.

"They in turn will read these news stories using nothing more than their smartphones. And then they will email the voice tracks back to me.

"All contributions are then edited, sound balanced and stitched together as one complete programme. We provide everyone who receives the talking newspaper with what they need - memory sticks, postal pouches and, of course, the playback box."

Statistics

• More than two million people in the UK live with sight loss
• of these around 360,000 are registered blind
• it has been predicted that by the end of this year, the number will rise to 2,250,000 people

Talking newspapers across the country

Richmond is just one of more than 300 talking newspapers across the UK.

To find a talking newspaper near you, visit the Talking News Federation website.