THE world of film is being revolutionised for hundreds of deaf and blind movie-fans in Worcestershire.

A National Lottery grant of £500,000 to the UK Film Council is allowing 78 cinemas across Britain, including the Odeon in Foregate Street, Worcester, to install captioning and audio-description facilities.

The audio technology allows a commentary to be provided to blind and partially sighted individuals through headphones, while also describing action sequences and body language to the listener without interfering with dialogue.

The Royal National Institute for the Deaf is welcoming these latest additions, as only 22 cinemas in England, four in Scotland and one each in Wales and Northern Ireland currently use the devices.

It will boost facilities to one-in-seven cinemas, benefiting the nine million deaf and hard of hearing people registered in the UK and the 359,000 people registered as blind or partially sighted.

"Deaf and hard of hearing people have been excluded from the enjoyment of cinema since the advent of the talkies back in the 1920s," said Dr John Low, chief executive of the charity.

"At a time when service providers are preparing for part three of the Disability Discrimination Act which comes into effect in October 2004, the installation of this equipment greatly expands access and choice for large number of people."

Cinemas have to provide at least 50 per cent of the funding required for installation and equipment.

And Nick Moore, general manager at Worcester Odeon, said its service could possibly be up-and-running within the next two months.

"We asked if we could participate in the scheme because we'd had a few enquiries and new Lottery funding was available.

"Hopefully we will be creating a real demand for this service," he said.

In Worcestershire 726 people were registered as blind or partially sighted and 488 people as deaf or hard of hearing by the Department of Health in 2001.

For information on forthcoming adapted film screenings log onto information site, www.yourlocalcinema.com