Wheelchair users in Manchester are set to be given the opportunity to learn ballroom and Latin dancing as part of a new three-month course launching on 27 February.

It is hoped the two-hour classes - called Strictly Wheelchair Dancing - will encourage people of all ages and abilities to take up dancing, while also enabling participants to train to national competition level. Ray Bulpitt, a consultant to BBC's Dancing on Wheels series starting on 11 February, will lead the classes between 27 February and 8 May, with an event at Wythenshawe Forum on 15 May to mark the end of the course.

Bulpitt said: "To dance in a wheelchair takes a great deal of control and co-ordination. The pure joy that participants get from being at one with the music is incredible." The scheme is being jointly funded by Manchester City Council and NHS Manchester, and has received support from Disability Sports UK.