A blind solicitor has won a three-year battle to travel across the Channel with his guide dog Barney.

Richard Schaverien, from Hove, is celebrating after a rule change by Brittany Ferries which now allows two guide dogs per ferry sailing.

Mr Schaverien, 47, whose sight has been gradually deteriorating during the past 15 years, took his fight to the former home secretary David Blunkett, who also has a guide dog, and also received backing from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

He and Barney, a golden Labrador cross, were the focal point of a national campaign that also involved Mr Schaverien's MP Ivor Caplin.

Mr Schaverien said: "This is not a victory for me but a victory for all those who are blind and regularly cross the Channel with their guide dogs.

"Brittany Ferries was previously the only ferry company not allowing dogs past the car deck.

"Now the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has informed me Brittany Ferries has had a rule change and will allow two guide dogs per sailing, providing the guide dog owner has a competent sighted person accompanying them.

"I have made a booking and Barney, my family and I are all on board."

All other ferry companies allow guide dogs, providing the animal stays in a pre-booked cabin with their owner.

Mr Schaverien is a partner in Howlett Clarke Cushman, one of Brighton's oldest practices.

He suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, which has resulted in a gradual reduction in his sight.

He started his campaign after being told he could not take Barney past the car deck on the 12-hour Portsmouth to St Malo sailing. He has a holiday home near St Malo and makes about four or five trips a year.

The French-owned ferry company banned guide dogs on safety grounds.

From September 2005, Brittany Ferries will be the only major ferry company regularly operating the western routes on the Channel all year round.

If the company had not had a change of heart, the 70 guide dog owners who regularly cross the Channel would have been forced to travel from Dover or Newhaven.

A spokesman for Brittany Ferries said: "We carried out surveys in conjunction with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in December.

"There was no adverse reaction from passengers, although we had concerns about dogs being in cafeterias and restaurants."