A CAMPAIGNER has sounded a stark warning as a blind charity declared those with limited sight are at high risk throughout the coronavirus outbreak.

More than 1,000 blind and visually impaired people in Southend should be included on the government’s list of those most at risk from coronavirus, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has said.

The charity warns that people with sight loss are struggling to get food as a result of being excluded from priority access to online shopping.

NHS Digital data shows that 1,135 people in Southend were registered as being blind or partially sighted in March 2017. Of those, 500 were recorded as being blind or severely sight impaired. Campaigner Jill Allen-King, 80, has had to rely on her neighbours to keep herself and her husband stocked up on supplies.

The secretary of the Southend branch of the National Federation for the Blind and the Southend Pensions’ Campaign said: “I’m completely blind and my husband is registered blind so can partially see, so he used to go and do our shopping.

“Ever since the two metre rule has been put in place and we’ve had to stay inside, we’ve had to rely on our neighbours to get our shopping. We can’t see how close people are.

“Blind individuals should be put on the priority access list for online shopping.”

She added: “The government hasn’t considered blind people throughout the outbreak. The coronavirus letters which were delivered through our doors aren’t in a readable format.

“The font isn’t enlarged and there’s no audio so we can’t even see what it says.”

Keith Valentine, development director at the RNIB, said: “The government has got to include blind people in the definition of those who need extra help.

“People are scared and worried about whether they are going to get food or medication. They’re literally saying ‘how am I going to feed myself?’”

admitted she has relied heavily on neighbours during the coronavirus outbreak