Campaigners at a hotel for blind people hope their latest fund-raising target becomes a major talking point.

Honeywood House in Station Road, East Preston, near Worthing, already has talking notice boards and vocal alarm clocks.

Now staff are trying to raise £23,500 to buy a talking lift which can be programmed to greet guests and tell them which floor they are on.

The hotel only has two floors but many of the visitors are elderly and cancel their holiday plans when they hear the ground-floor rooms are booked.

The lift will enable them to get to rooms on the first floor without worrying about navigating the stairs.

It will also warn guests when the doors are closing so they do not get trapped.

Derek Froud, head of fund-raising for the Royal Blind Society, which runs the 13-room hotel, said:

"People who come to stay tend to be elderly so generally the ground floor rooms are reserved more quickly.

"Therefore some people who want to come on holiday are disappointed and cannot cope with the stairs.

"The lift will help them and give them a choice of rooms upstairs.

"The buttons will be embossed with numbers and Braille.

"We can prerecord and programme a message ourselves, so it could say hello to people.

"Last year we were given money to buy two talking notice boards which help acclimatise new guests to the building.

"They give directions to their rooms and the dining room."

The hotel has already received £7,000 towards the lift in donations and pledges but it has a long way to go.

Seeboard this week donated £500, matching the amount it gave last year for hand rails in the garden.

Society trustee Philip Bush said: "We cannot raise the lift money from normal operating income because we will always have a deficit despite a high occupancy rate.

"We have to keep charges low because, in spite of the many additional costs resulting from loss of sight, most blind people live on much lower incomes than fully sighted people.

"We do not wish to exclude anyone through lack of finance."

Staff hope the lift can be installed during their closed season in January.

To donate money, call 01622 690756