COUNCILLORS donned special glasses that mimic blindness to walk through the city centre and find out the risks posed by too many A-boards.

The walk came after concerns were raised that the number of A-boards and other hazards outside businesses are making it difficult for disabled people to navigate the city centre safely.

Sight Concern Worcestershire says the boards - often used for advertising - form a barrier to an otherwise clear pathway, and can also cause canes to become trapped and in some cases break.

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Anne Eyre, chief executive officer of Sight Concern Worcestershire, emphasised the charity is supportive of local businesses, but suggested that a re-evaluation may be needed regarding A-boards and street furniture.

She said: "I am delighted that Worcester City Councillors and officers are listening to blind and partially sighted people's experiences and working with Sight Concern Worcestershire to ensure that Worcester City is an accessible, welcoming environment for all those who wish to visit. 

"I am looking forward to working with the council and businesses to improve accessibility for vision impaired customers and identify ways of advertising which do not have a negative impact on disabled people."

Worcester City councillors joined Sight Concern Worcestershire for the walk after Cllr Jill Deseyrah had a visually impaired constituent highlight the issue.

She said: "I was contacted earlier this year about the dangers that visually impaired people face, so I have been working with Cllr Robyn Norfolk and Sight Concern to be able to do this walk through the city centre.

"Sight Concern provided special glasses that simulated different levels of visual impairment which the councillors were able to try out.

"It was really quite sobering and proved to be a really beneficial experience."

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In a survey of vision-impaired people conducted by the RNIB, 95 per cent of respondents had collided with an obstacle in their local neighbourhood, over half of whom had collided with an A-board. 

According to Worcestershire County Council's interim A-board policy, the owner of the business remains liable for the A-boards at all times and they must be more than 1m high and 0.75m wide.

There must also be a minimum of 1.8m of unobstructed footway between the A board and any trafficked carriageway.

Another walk has been planned by Sight Concern Worcestershire for later this year.