Hereford'S much-loved Old House is ready to go 'virtual' and offer accessibility to all its visitors.

The beautiful 17th century black-and-white house in High Town is now accessible to visitors from the comfort of a computer terminal.

More than 37,000 people visited the Old House last year and compliments from visitors included: "superb", "couldn't be better" and "magnificent." However, some visitors could only imagine the splendours of the upper floors.

Visitors unable to climb the stairs could only view the ground floor. The 'virtual' Old House tour will make all the rooms totally accessible.

Herefordshire Heritage Services working with a company called In the Picture have completed this innovative project with the support of The Herefordshire Partnership and dedicated volunteers.

Panoramic 360-degree photographs have been taken of all the rooms and incorporated into a computer programme. Visitors can now navigate their way around the building while sitting at a computer on the ground floor of the building using the mouse - they won't miss a thing!

The tour is further enhanced by the inclusion of 17th -Century characters, who appear in the images.

Expert interpreters from the Guild of Gentry gave their services free for the photo-shoot and brought along authentic costumes and artefacts.

The tour is to be launched today (Thursday) at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery at 6.30pm. The larger venue will give a greater number of visitors the chance to see the tour.