PARTIALLY sighted or hard of hearing Cinema goers will soon be able to get more out of their visits to Blackpool's Odeon multiplex.

The Rigby Road cinema will be installing captioning and audio-description equipment to benefit audience members with hearing or sight impairments, the UK Film Council has announced.

Blackpool's Odeon is one of 78 cinemas across England improving facilities for visitors with sensory impairments.

It is understood that the cinema will meet at least half of the installation costs, with the rest coming from a share of £350,000 from the National Lottery's Cinema Access Programme.

Only 22 cinemas in England currently have captioning and audio-description equipment, though last year 84 films with digital subtitles and audio description were released, bringing the total number of such films to more than 100.

A website, www.yourlocalcinema.com, has also been created for film fans with hearing or sight problems to find out times of audio captioned or captioned screenings.

The announcement was welcomed by Judith Harrison, rehabilitation manager at Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Society for the Blind.

"Audio description has been out on videos and in theatres for quite some time. With audio description, the user hears the normal dialogue that we all hear but it will be interspersed with a kind of running commentary," she said.

"I think it will be a big improvement for people with reduced vision."

Dr John Low, chief executive of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, told the press: "The installation of this equipment greatly expands access and choice for large numbers of deaf and blind and partially sighted people."