WARRINGTON'S Deaf Society is striving to become a centre of excellence for the north west and bidding for lottery funding to help make its dream come true.

The society, based on Winmarleigh Street, currently offers a self-funding sports and social club for members and support from the Deafness Support Network, attracting members of the deaf community from as far afield as Blackpool and Stoke.

The building next door has been purchased, along with other rooms in the current building, with the support of a loan from the Deafness Support Network. The British Deaf Association moved into the building last week bringing with them a health and counselling and community advocacy service.

More organisations will move in and share the premises if the Lottery loan is approved.

The support network is a separate organisation, providing a social work service to the deaf community. The communication service based in the Winmarleigh Street building covers all of Cheshire, Halton and Warrington

It is hoped with enough funding that sign language courses and lessons for the deaf in computer skills will be held in new specially designed training rooms.

Head of Communications for the Deafness Support Network, Mavis McCue said: "We want it to be a place of social inclusion, bringing in the wider community through social activity. We also want to give deaf children the opportunity to come here after school and to be able to offer a youth service/ mums and toddlers after school group."

The societies have raised almost £7000 since last Christmas through a series of sign and sing' events with the deaf community and hearing people. Much of the money was used to improve the building and facilities.

Mavis added: "We are working towards creating a whole range of improvements for deaf people so that any service they could possibly want will be here.

"At the moment because were in such an old building there's no disabled access, but if we can get the lottery funding we can change that."