STORYTELLING for blind and partially sighted children has an added sensory dimension in a new free resource from the Christian charity Torch Trust.

The resource is a soft toy lamb to cuddle while they listen to the actor Sir David Suchet reading the Jesus Storybook Bible. The lamb contains the speaker, triggered by pressing its nose. “The sensory element helps to connect them with the world around them, and gives them the independence to be able to do what most children can do — pick up a book,” the Trust’s chief executive, Sarah Dawkins, said on Tuesday.

There are an estimated 25,000 children in the UK with sight-loss. The project had been generously funded by a social-inclusion charity, Fight for Sight, and it would be unrealistic to think that every child could yet be reached, she said; there was enough funding now to give away 300 lambs over the next year or two.

Sir David recorded the audiobook for the publishing firm HarperCollins, which have given Torch Trust the rights to use it. Feedback from parents and carers who have tried it describes it as “amazing, a real blessing” in enabling their children to access it for themselves.

“Our aim is that all children, regardless of visual ability, have the opportunity to hear the gospel through an engaging and age-appropriate resource, and so each is a special gift, fostering a sense of love, care, and connection with the Christian message,” Ms Dawkins said.

The lambs are shipped to the UK from Australia, where they are produced by a specialist company.