A VITAL translation service that helps non-English speakers across the hurdles of everyday life is celebrating 12 years of service in Worcester.

Ethnic Access Link was launched by a city GP who saw the problems ethnic minorities faced taking a sick child to the doctors, having a tooth pulled out or preparing for surgery in hospital.

Twelve years on, the service is still determined to break down barriers for anyone struggling to obtain a grasp of English.

From humble beginnings, the service now has a dedicated team of more than 20 multi-lingual speakers who are experts in languages ranging from Arabic to Urdu.

Staff now deal with more than 3,000 calls made to the Hopmarket offices each year and carry out nearly 2,500 home visits.

Problems with health, benefits, social services and phone calls about domestic violence are just some of the queries the full and part-time staff deal with.

"There's a real mix of cultures and languages now within Worcester and we need to be concerned with the health and welfare of everyone," said director Gail Grinnell.

"We don't provide extra services for ethnic groups, but we create a vital translation link for anyone struggling with English who needs help in accessing services available to everyone."

A recent example of the team's help was a Russian patient at Worcestershire Royal Hospital who needed a minor eye operation.

"We bent over backwards, but managed to get a Russian speaker to the hospital," said Mrs Grinnell.

"The person was so confused, so to see the relief on their face when the hospital contacted us and we provided a translator made working for this service all the more worthwhile."

Worcestershire County Council uses the charity's translation services to promote access to all its public documents and articles.

A home tutor service for people to learn English run by Worcester College of Technology in conjunction with the Ethnic Access Link is also now in operation.

The charity also goes out to schools and workplaces across the county to quash ignorance and stereotypes and help raise cultural awareness.