LOSING your sight can be a very daunting experience — so Bolton Society for Blind People's befriending service is a lifeline for many who may feel isolated and lonely.

The service has been running for more than 15 years and in that time has supported hundreds of blind adults in Bolton while also providing interesting and rewarding volunteering opportunities.

Befriending can involve visiting a blind person in their home for up to an hour each week and could involve reading out mail, helping with shopping or simply enjoying a chat and a cup of tea .

Toni Forrest, aged 47, has been a befriending volunteer for nearly three years and visits Ken Buckley, aged 82, once a week for an hour.

Mr Buckley is blind and deaf and lives in a care home but looks forward to his visits from Miss Forrest, who has taught him how to read and write Braille.

Miss Forrest, who is also registered blind, can read the language which is traditionally written using dots on embossed paper by people who are blind and partially sighted.

She said: "I was originally asked if I knew anyone who could teach a deaf blind man Braille. I didn't, but thought I could give it a go myself. I had no experience helping anyone like this before, but decided to give it a go."

Miss Forrest, from Great Lever, has also taught Mr Buckley to communicate with her by spelling words on to his hands. He finds this extremely therapeutic and useful because it is his way to find out about what is going on in the outside world.

She said: "Ken's only visitors are his son and me, so he really looks forward to my visits — as do I. We have developed a really good friendship with each other. He used to love watching soaps on TV, but can't do that now, and because I have audio translation on my TV I can keep him up to date."

Miss Forrest, who is one of the four per cent of people in the UK who are completely blind, also works as a counsellor for the blind and as a guide dog speaker.

She visits Mr Buckley with her guide dog, Quilla, a Labrador-retriever cross, and wants to encourage people to become a befriending volunteer.

She said: "The service basically offers people a bit of company, even if it's just for an hour a week. BSBP is a fantastic place and offers life-changing services to people in the borough.

"I do think that the befriending service has changed Ken's life. He was doing nothing before. When he could hear, he used to join in with the care home quizzes and activities, but now he can't. But since I have befriended him he's really come out of his shell."

Charity co-ordinator Justine Watson said: "BSBP currently has a waiting list of blind members who are isolated and in need of support from a volunteer befriender. In order for BSBP to meet increasing demand as our ageing population live longer we are reaching out to the community of Bolton to help us meet this demand."

A new provision is the Eyebefriend project, which involves volunteers accompanying blind adults who are mobile and who want to get out and about more to enable them to practise routes in their local area, visit places of interest and hobbies or pay bills and attend appointments.

Call Justine for a chat on 01204 337 896 for more information about how to get involved.