TWO Lib Dem councillors in Torbay are calling for action to support blind residents in the resort.

Cllrs Ian Doggett and Ruth Pentney have submitted a motion for the council meeting at the end of the month calling for better financial support for blind residents needing help getting out and about.

Disability Living Allowance helps disabled people who have difficulties getting out and about safely and independently.

But despite facing some of the biggest barriers to independent mobility, blind people are excluded from receiving the higher rate mobility component of DLA, worth £46.75 per week.

The current rules state that to get the higher rate, the claimant must have a physical impairment which causes difficulty with movement, which excludes blind people.

Cllr Doggett said: "Extra money would help cover essential items, for example, taxis so blind people are able to travel more safely.

"The benefit rules currently prevent thousands of blind people across the UK from getting extra financial help with their mobility costs, leaving them virtual prisoners in their own homes and unable to visit friends and family which affects the quality of their lives.

"The Liberal Democrats think blind people being excluded from claiming the higher rate is outrageous and unfair considering the cost of taxis or mini cabs that blind people need to use."

Cllr Pentney added: "I understand how difficult it is for blind people to get about and access everyday services.

"This anomaly in the rules is astonishing and we're calling on the Government to take action now.

"Making the higher rate of the mobility benefit available to blind people would help them do things we all take for granted, like going to the supermarket, library or visiting friends and family.

"It would also make potentially dangerous journeys safer and provide better access to essential services such as visiting the doctor, dentist or hospital."

The RNIB, along with other associations including Guide Dogs for the Blind, Action for Blind People and the National League of the Blind and Disabled, has launched a national campaign as a result of a huge groundswell of support and anger from blind people throughout the UK who have been denied access to the higher rate of the mobility component of DLA.

They are working with local political groups to bring pressure to bear on the Government to make the changes that are necessary.

Steve Winyard, head of campaigns at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, said: "Gaining access to the higher rate mobility component of DLA could transform the lives of people with severe sight loss, giving them independence and greater inclusion in society. At a cost of only £30million, it is a small amount of money for Government which could make a huge difference to the lives of blind people across the UK."