A DERBYSHIRE charity is calling for people to consider a career caring for the elderly and disabled.

Staff at Derbyshire Coalition for Inclusive Living are urging people to provide help with tasks such as washing and dressing, a role which requires no formal training.

The Ripley charity is calling on those who are unemployed, or are looking for a career change, to consider the job as an option.

The move is part of the charity's project to set up an agency which recruits and employs personal assistants.

Chairman Nancy Pountain said the role was in-demand.

She said: "We advertise almost every week for several personal assistants on behalf of people who need care.

"I believe there are lots of people who would like the job and would be good at it."

People who need care are given money by the Government to buy the help they want.

They can go through the council or a private agency or recruit a self-employed personal assistant, often by advertising through the charity or in shop windows.

The charity is in the process of applying for funding to start up the agency, which will be run by disabled people as a social enterprise.

It could take 18 months or more to put into place.