STAFF at the North Yorkshire training centre of the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People are celebrating after reaching an important milestone.

Beano, an 11-month-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel who was donated by a private breeder last summer, has become the 500th dog to be trained by the charity nationwide.

Beano has spent the last four months at the charity's training centre at Cliffe, near Selby, learning to recognise the various sounds to which he will have to alert his new owner.

His training was undertaken by Lisa Coles, 31, who has worked for the charity since giving up work as a beauty therapist three years ago. Lisa, whose brother Christopher has been profoundly deaf from birth, is currently studying for her Stage Two qualification in British Sign Language.

Beano's new owner is mother-of-two Gail Clerihew, 36, of Peterlee, County Durham. Both she and her husband Richard are profoundly deaf and use British Sign Language to communicate.

Gail said: "I will be more confident and will feel safer at home knowing that he is working for me, alerting me to all the sounds I need to be aware of."

Beano has been trained to alert Gail to noises such as the doorbell, telephone, smoke alarm and fire bell, as well as letting her know if someone is calling her from another room or from the garden.

The centre at Cliffe trains about 50 dogs every year, with up to 16 animals in the kennels at any one time.

Claire Paine, spokeswoman for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, said: "The charity itself has been in operation since 1982 and although we are very excited to be placing our 500th hearing dog, the waiting list is now nearly two years - so we have a long, long way to go yet."

The charity recently bought another property, near its main training centre in Oxfordshire, and has launched the Touch & Tell appeal to raise £1 million to fund conversion work.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.