DEAF clowns Norman and Elaine McLaren have had their life transformed by hearing dog Kip -- and now she has been made an honorary member of the Clowns' Institute.

Grandparents Norman and Elaine are better known as Larenzo and Mrs E -- their stage names when they don their clown disguises to entertain children.

Both Elaine, 52, and Norman, 55, wear hearing aids and Norman has no hearing at all in his right ear.

They had never heard of the hearing dogs for deaf people scheme until two years ago when audiologist Shirley Godfrey suggested they apply for one.

A year ago they accepted Kip into their home and the cross bred King Charles/ cocker spaniel has made a real difference to their lives.

Before their door bell was wired up to lights, their phone lit up when it rang and had such a loud ringing tone their neighbour would often think her phone was sounding and they were woken up every morning to an alarm clock lighting up the whole bedroom.

Norman said: "It was awful -- what a horrible way to wake up! We missed many phone calls and often people would come to the door and we would never hear them."

Now the phone goes and Kip paws Elaine and Norman and leads them to the noise. When someone calls at the door she paws her owners and waits obediently behind them while they open the door to the caller.

When Kip was chosen for Norman and Elaine, details of the layout of their house in Brockclough Road, Whitewell Bottom, were noted along with the noises of the telephone and doorbell and where they are in the home.

After 13 weeks training she was ready to live with her new owners, but it took a few weeks for her to learn that the 9am to 5pm regime she had been trained for now extended to 24 hours a day seven days a week!

She sleeps in their room and Elaine said: "When the alarm clock goes off she licks my face to tell me, and if I turn over to go back to sleep she dives under the covers, so there's no sleeping in!"

If the smoke alarm sounds she is trained to react differently and on waking them she will fall immediately to the floor to alert them of the danger.

Elaine looks after two of her grandchildren during the day and said Kip gets on with them great, even putting up with having her tail pulled.

Norman is a caretaker at Belmont School, in Rawtenstall, and also works for the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which is an artist school run by deaf disabled people for deaf disabled people.

They became clowns six years ago and have performed all over the UK and in Europe and in 1999 they won an international award.

When their membership badges came through this year, to their surprise the organisation had made Kip and honorary member -- joining stars like Ken Dodd and Su Pollard.

Norman said: "She is a real ice-breaker when we take her out with us in Burnley wearing her bright yellow jacket.

"People who would have a fear of speaking to us before because we are deaf, will stop, fuss Kip and then talk to us. It is great for breaking down barriers and they will ask us what it is like being deaf.

"Kip also knows where the pet stall is on Burnley Market and takes us to it every time, because she knows that is where she gets her rewards. As soon as she alerts us to a noise she is rewarded each time with a treat."

Next year, the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity will celebrate its 20th anniversary when the dogs are to receive new jackets.

The charity has 10 dogs with deaf people in East Lancashire and is always looking for suitable dogs to train, particularly puppies and if anyone has a dog that may be suitable, is friendly, outgoing and has a good temperament and the dog is between six weeks and three years old, they can contact 01844 273938.