A search has been launched to find young disability champions to help businesses in North East Wales tap into the £274 billion "purple pound" market.

Community interest company PIWS, which means purple, is leading the campaign to recruit Access Ambassadors.

These ambassadors, who will be disabled people, will assess facilities at tourism and hospitality venues and suggest ways to improve accessibility and inclusivity.

According to PIWS, there are 670,000 people registered as disabled in Wales, which is more than 20 per cent of the population.

PIWS founder Davina Carey-Evans, who has two sons with complex disabilities and whose husband was severely disabled in a fall, is spearheading the initiative.

As part of the scheme, young people aged between 16 and 24 will be paid to review venues across Wales.

They will provide feedback on their experiences to help attractions and other venues understand the challenges faced by families, including those with hidden disabilities, and make reasonable adjustments to accommodate them.

Ms Carey-Evans said: "We hear a lot about the power of the LGBTQ+ community’s pink pound but the purple pound is also very valuable and in accessible tourism across the UK it is estimated to have a potential worth of £15.5 billion a year.

"Gearing up your business to be user-friendly for the disabled isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes commercial sense too and it needn’t cost the earth either.

“It’s not just about wheelchair access – people in wheelchairs make up just nine per cent of UK’s registered disabled and a lot can be done that is straightforward and very inexpensive.

“There is a need for quiet safe spaces because sometimes the excitement of visiting somewhere new can be overwhelming for some impairments and an empty corner with seating can be ideal for them to chill out if they’re becoming overstimulated or anxious."

Ms Carey-Evans also highlighted the importance of employing people with disabilities to support businesses, as this helps break down barriers of communication and understanding.

She said: "Many young disabled adults are very lonely, isolated and unemployed."

Helping to recruit the new ambassadors and playing an ambassadorial role herself is Manon Wyn Jones, from Carmel, near Caernarfon.

Her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Nansi, was born with spina bifida.

Ms Jones said: "We have to plan everywhere we go and everything we do.

"Nansi is unable to walk or stand unaided and her catheter bag has to be emptied every two and a half hours.

"We have been to places without proper changing rooms which has meant having to do catheter changes in the boot of the car."

She added that organising a family day out can be quite stressful, as websites are not always clear and "you really have to do your homework before setting out."

She said: "The work that PIWS is doing will make such a difference – before that it wasn’t that simple."

For more information about PIWS, visit www.piws.co.uk