A library mentoring project teaching more than 750 Norfolk residents to read can go ahead after receiving a funding boost of almost £100,000.

Norfolk County Council's library and information service is setting up the Norfolk Reading Pathway after a grant of £98,000 from Arts Council England.

The project will support emerging readers aged eight and above by offering mentoring support and one-to-one phonics teaching aiming to enable people to become fluent readers within six months.

The council's head of library services Janet Holden said: 'This valuable new service will support people at all stages of their life, whether for education, work or leisure. Reading is one of life's vital skills and we are delighted that the grant from the Arts Council will allow us to do this in Norfolk.'

The service is now looking for 150 volunteers to help deliver the scheme across the county's 47 libraries.