DISABLED children, parents and teachers in Warrington are set to benefit from a £232,000 cash injection to increase access to the town's schools.

The Local Education Authority has been awarded a total of £232,400 as part of a £50 million nationwide initiative.

It is the latest instalment of an on-going programme which aims to develop disabled services in schools on all levels.

As well as improving physical access, the money will be put towards meeting the requirements of special needs children through specialist equipment, as part of the borough council's long-term aim of making all schools in the town "barrier-free".

The move has been welcomed by the town's premier spokesman for disabilities.

Dave Thompson, disability services adviser for Warrington Community Healthcare Trust, said: "We welcome any amount of funding to provide better access in schools because it works on three levels.

"One of the biggest misunderstandings about disabled access in schools is that we normally only think of the pupils - but now the Government is looking at ways of retaining staff who have become disabled and employing disabled teachers.

"From my point of view, I am a disabled parent who has had to go to parents' evenings - and there were some schools you couldn't get into.

"This money also gives children a choice of which school they want to go to. Hopefully, it is the start of more things to come."