A directory offering information on services and organisations for disabled people has been launched in Oxford.

Oxford City Council has teamed up with Oxford Brookes University to create the city's first disability directory.

The directory will be freely available from the city council to anyone with a disability living, working or studying in Oxford.

Access officer for the city council Lynne Hooper said: "Many people have told us that it is often difficult to find out information about services and organisations for disabled people.

"People often found that they were having to go to several agencies before they found what they wanted. A request was made to gather all this information together in one place. The Oxford Disability Directory is the result and we are delighted with it."

Gwynneth Pedler, 83, is a member of the Oxford Access Forum, an organisation made up of various disability related groups that meet four times a year to discuss issues affecting disabled people in the city.

Mrs Pedler — who has been disabled for the past four years — felt duty-bound to help compile information for the new directory.

She said: "When I have been going around Oxford, as a disabled person you come across things that, as a resident of the city, you can try and address or find your way round.

"If people are not as familiar with Oxford, or are not able to make their own inquiries, then this directory will be a great deal of help to them."

The 59-page directory includes information and contacts for groups and services in the city including the Dial-a-Ride bus for disabled people and the Shop Mobility service that lends mobility aids to people visiting the city.

It also provides a list of websites with further information not in the directory.

To get a copy of the Oxford Disability Directory, contact the city council's access officer on 01865 252531 or view it online.