INDIVIDUALS and businesses in Ludlow will be encouraged to do more to help people in the town who suffer from dementia.

A group from Ludlow is working with the Alzheimer’s Society with a view to having Ludlow achieve the status as a ‘dementia friendly town.’

This has involved training sessions to make people aware of the problems and needs of people who suffer from the condition.

Progress has already been made an d a special helpline set up that can be called by sufferers’ and those who support them.

The idea is that is directs people to the agencies that can help.

Vivienne Parry, a Ludlow Town and Shropshire Councillor has been behind the initiative. She estimates that there are more than 400 people living in Ludlow with a dementia diagnosis and that this probably does not reflect the extent of the problem in a town like Ludlow where there are a much greater proportion of older people than the national average.