A Charlbury-based gaming charity is set to receive a BAFTA award (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) which recognises outstanding contributions to games, film and television.

SpecialEffect will pick up the Special Award during the BAFTA Games ceremony on April 11.

Founded in 2007 by Mick Donegan, SpecialEffect tailors technology to cater to gamers with disabilities.

The charity, born from a collaboration between Mr Donegan and his son Bill, has evolved to a 30 employee organisation providing specialist support across the UK and beyond.

Mr Donegan said: "With a background in special education, I realised how much people with severe physical disabilities were missing out by not being able to play.

"I started SpecialEffect not only to help individuals to play video games but also to collaborate with the games industry to make their games more accessible ‘at source’.

"Since then, we have been privileged to be invited to share our ideas with more and more developers all over the world.

"Now, 17 years since SpecialEffect began, it’s an absolute honour for SpecialEffect’s work to be recognised by BAFTA."

Emma Baehr, BAFTA executive director of awards and content, said: “SpecialEffect’s work is essential to the games world and is hugely deserving of a BAFTA Special Award.

"Their innovative and supportive approach to making games accessible drives progress within the industry, collaborating with developers and studios on new technologies to make games within reach to more people."