The Leicester Mercury is challenging businesses to take part in a new campaign aimed at improving the reading ability of hundreds of children in the county.

Right to Read is the brainchild of the charity Business in the Community, and is being backed by the Mercury.

As part of the campaign firms are being asked to allow volunteer staff an hour a week of their work time to listen to children read in schools for a minimum of 12 weeks – which the Department for Education and Skills says can improve a child’s reading age by six months.

The Mercury hopes to match 400 employee volunteers with 40 schools by January.

Mercury business editor Paul Grinnell, said: “Ensuring our children have all the right skills to allow them to play a full part in community life is one of our most important duties.

“We need 400 volunteers to link up with 40 schools to shoulder some of the task of helping children, not only to read, but to discover the enjoyment that books, newspapers and magazines can bring.”