FIRMS are showing an increasing desire to recruit disabled workers, a leading campaigner said today.

Remploy chief executive Bob Warner said the good news came ahead of a year which will be crucial in the development of jobs for people with disabilities.

He said he hoped for real progress over the next few months as his organisation marked its 60th anniversary.

He added: "We have the Government's desire to get more disabled people into work, signalled by the recent extension of the Disability Discrimination Act.

"We are finding a growing pull from employers driven by labour shortages and social responsibility.

"There is a strongly-voiced demand from disabled people for more opportunity and a clear message from all to look for inclusive solutions."

Remploy, the UK's biggest employer of disabled people, has a works at Waterloo.