Epsom and Ewell's Mayor was interviewed by the borough's Talking Newspaper (EETN), one of the charities his office is supporting this year.

Mayor and Councillor Neil Dallen was invited to talk to EETN Chairwoman Judy Sarssam, who is herself visually impaired, last month with the aid of a computer set up with audio assistance, as she was unable to see and read the questions directly like many of the EETN's listeners.

Listeners to the popular audio news were invited to send in questions for the interview, which were then processed by the computer.

Ms Sarssam described the format during the broadcast: "I'm using my trusty computer, which is programmed with a screen reader’s synthesized voice. This will be a first for us and the listeners...It's a rather strange experience," she said.

Responding to questions ranging from how Brexit will affect the borough, to ideas on the homeless and how to ensure the Borough is meeting its housing needs, Cllr Dallen broached a variety of topics during the interview, and was full of praise for the area.

Cllr Dallen said: "Epsom is a fantastic place to live, work and to play and I’m very pleased that I live here and plan to stay here for the rest of my life and I hope that my family enjoy it too."

Ms Sarssam highlighted how the interview had been an ideal way for listeners to get a feeling for how the EETN format works as proceedings drew to a close.

Ms Sarssam said: "I hope that by leaving in the Screen Reader’s unusual commands in our recording, it gives people some idea of how the system works, if they haven’t heard a computer in action."

The Mayor meanwhile said he had a great experience fielding questions fed to him via a computer and urged residents in the borough to attend his future fundraising events.

Cllr Dallen said: "It’s been great fun and very interesting talking to – or actually, responding to- a computer rather than a human! I thank you all for your support and please invite all your friends and even your enemies, to come along to the fundraising events still to come."

To listen to the interview or for more information about EETN, visit: www.eetn.org.uk

For more information about the Mayor’s fundraising events visit www.mayorscharitiesepsom.org.uk