A Devon schoolboy has prompted the development of a talking text message device.

Mesar Hamid, from Exeter, who is visually impaired, told phone engineers he felt excluded from other teenagers who were sending text messages.

His comments came while he was on a school visit to the BT Tower in London.

The phone firm has now developed a talking palm-top computer which can read mobile phone text messages aloud.

'Quite excluded'

The new gadget has been demonstrated to students at the West of England School For Children With Little Or No Sight in Exeter.

Pupils said it is needed as text messaging has become an important part of life.

Mesar, 17, said: "Basically there a lot of my friends who are texting.

"I am getting quite excluded from this union of people, and I asked if there was that could help me be a part of teenage society."

Adam Oliver, from BT, said the company assumed another organisation was working on the problem.

Personal organiser

He said: "We talked to lots of people. I talked to the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and asked if there was any development under way so as we didn't cut across them.

"They didn't know of anything, so we set about trying to sort something out and make a demonstrator to show what was possible."

At the moment, the speaking text message reader is only on a palm-top computer or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) as opposed to a mobile.

'Help people'

Adam Oliver said: "We can get mobile phones to talk to personal organisers but it's better to have it in one device.

"Mobile phones are very intelligent, but they're very difficult to write lots of software on."

West of England school pupil, Steve, said: "I think it's a good piece of equipment that could help a lot of people.

"I've got a phone at home and I've to get my sister to read the text messages - which sometimes isn't a good idea."