Mayor has personal ‘guide’ for town centre walk

MAYOR of Rotherham Cllr Lyndsay Pitchley took a walk through the town centre last week — but it certainly wasn’t a stroll in the park.

Cllr Pitchley was blindfolded and wore special glasses to experience what life was like for the blind and visually impaired.

The event was also held to raise awareness of Guide Dogs for the Blind — which is one of the mayor’s three chosen charities for her year in office.

Glenis Julyan, from the Rotherham branch of the charity, said: “The exercise demonstrated to the mayor and her Consort Mr Alex Armitage the huge importance of guide dogs and showed how they play such a vital role in the daily lives of blind and partially-sighted people enabling them to get out and about freely.

“Guide dogs are not government funded so rely solely on the kind generosity of the public. It costs around £50,000 for the life of a guide dog.”

For more information visit www.guidedogs.org.uk.