Nearly 400 people have already taken advantage of Croydon library's e- book loan service.

Since launching in September last year almost 1,000 books have been downloaded by library members who are then able to read them on their computers or mobile phone devices.

The project is led by Croydon Disability Forum who received a Big Lottery grant to set up the scheme, which is primarily aimed at readers with mobility or vision impairments.

Those who find it hard to read normal text are able to borrow audio versions of the books, and these have proved particularly popular.

The audio books have also been popular with college students who are learning to speak English as a second language.

Councillor Sara Bashford, cabinet member for customer services, culture and sport, said: “This has been a real success story and we have had great feedback from users of the service. We even had one new library member join up who it turned out was an American serviceman on his way to Afghanistan.”