Lancashire Constabulary is holding a special event for deaf people to make them aware of the services which are on offer to them.

Members of the deaf community will be given advice on how best to contact the police in an emergency as well as being able to discuss the issues affecting them.

The Constabulary's dedicated Deaf Liaison Officer, PC Paula Robertson, has organised the event which is being held at force headquarters on Monday 22 September.

Officers will be on hand to talk about the emergency text messaging service which was set up earlier this year for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment.

The service is designed to enable them to contact all emergency services without needing help from anybody else.

The caller simply texts the word POLICE followed by their name, location and nature of incident to 66247, or the word FIRE if they require the Fire Service.

As well as that, people will be introduced to some of the Constabulary's team of link officers, who are trained in British Sign Language (BSL).

The team of 14 officers, from across the county, are there to assist with communication and discuss community or crime related issues with the deaf community. They are also on hand to help people who are brought into custody and make the initial contact with victims and offenders to establish what has taken place.

Other initiatives which have been put in place to make the lives of deaf people easier will also be discussed at the day long event.

PC Paula Robertson said: "Lancashire Constabulary has come a long way in recognising and meeting the needs of the deaf community and it is our aim to make it as easy as possible for everyone to contact us.

"The deaf awareness event has been set up so members of the deaf community can meet their local link officers and talk about the issues affecting them, as well as getting a bit of a refresher in the different services that are out there to make their lives easier.

"I would encourage any member of the deaf community to come along to the day and they are more than welcome to bring family or friends for support."

Anybody who would like to attend the free event, or would like any more information, should contact PC Paula Robertson on 01772 412947.