A WORCESTER man is working hard to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together through music while overcoming his own hurdles.

Ryan Compton, who lives in Blackpole, set up non-profit company, Real Impact Music, in January.

The Community Interest Company visits schools, care homes and other groups around Worcester and uses music in a fun and creative way to bring people together.

Mr Compton, aged 28, was registered blind at the age of 17 after being diagnosed with glaucoma when he was five-years-old.

Since then he has overcome his own problems to help others in the community who may have issues with isolation and self-esteem.

"When I was younger I wanted a career in music, but people kept on telling me how competitive that is. My studies were disrupted as I was always in and out of hospital having operations. I've had 60 to 70 operations in my life, at one point I had 20 in a year. It was getting a bit ridiculous at that point, and therefore I struggled with college," he said.

"I trained to go into counselling, and did a lot of mentoring mainly in Wales.

"I noticed that in Worcester there were music projects that work with teenagers in mainstream schools, but I started to think about what I could bring to people who may not have been in mainstream schools, or who may have been older or younger than school age.

"I set up the company and have been visiting schools, care homes, hostels and other places around the county. We'd do projects such as exploring the environment through music. For this project we listened to the sounds of nature and then replicated those sounds on various instruments, and some of us wrote lyrics around the theme. But we do projects based on what is topical. We've done some on anti-bullying and anti-discrimination in the past."

Mr Compton said that he has never let blindness get in his way, but it has given him the boost to help others deal with confidence issues.

He said: "I have been in to a few schools where teachers have told me upfront about a child that they know simply won't join in with what I have planned. But after working with that child in a different way I've seen them really come out of their shell and get involved, and have a great time. From this, the teachers have then implemented a different way of working with that child which has helped improve things for them as a whole."

Real Impact Music doesn't make a profit and any money raised goes in to more workshops.

To find out more go to www.realimpactmusic.co.uk.