With the help of assistive technology, a man from Wolverhampton who lost his voice as a child has been able to speak again in his Black Country accent.
Jack Smith, 22, had felt that the 'posh and boring' voice that he had been previously given did not represent his roots.
The new voice was created by inputting hundreds of recordings from someone with an accent similar to Mr Smith's into a communication aid software.
As a Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) Football Club fan, Jack's accent has been showcased to his football team when he read out the team names at a Premier League match win.
With the help of assistive technology, a man from Wolverhampton who lost his voice as a child has been able to speak in his Black Country accent. Jack Smith, 22, felt that the 'posh and boring' voice that he had been previously given did not represent his roots
For years, Jack Smith was forced to use a 'posh and boring' robotic standard generated communication aid throughout his childhood after a car crash paralysed him and robbed him of his ability to talk.
But he always felt part of himself was missing, and went on the BBC's The One Show to appeal for viewers to help him regain his true accent through his communication device.
He appeared on the show with three other students who all want wanted regional accents but found few age-appropriate regional voices for their communication devices.
Customisable voices are available for purchase from private companies but can be expensive with certain options costing hundreds of pounds online.
After a number of volunteers came forward, Jack chose the a man called Jack McBride, an actor and forklift truck driver was one of five people who auditioned.
Jack Smith liked his voice the best, so the 23-year-old then attended National Star College to have it recorded.
Mr Mcbride recorded over 600 phrases in his own Black country dialect for Jack's device.
Mr McBride said: 'I had seen The One Show were looking for to record someone with a Black Country Accent for a project.
'I applied and auditioned, It was a bit like the voice - Jack and some others listened to me talk and Jack liked my voice the most so I got the offer to do it.
'I felt bad for the recording staff, as the first time the day we did it the recordings didn't work so they had to get me back in and listen to my voice again all day.
'I hadn't even thought about people with communication aids losing their accents, it really made me think, and I think It's really given Jack his character.
'It was for a good cause, so I was happy to do it, and his family are lovely.
'Jack's dad called me to thank me for what I had done for his son, but it was a pleasure.'
Mr Smith attends The National Star College in Cheltenham for students with disablilities with its own reserach and development initiatives for assistive technologies. The college's website has its own team of specialist tecnologists that develop programmes for students
Mr Smith, attends The National Star College in Cheltenham for students with disablilities with its own reserach and development initiatives for assistive technologies.
The college has its own team of specialists who develop programmes for its students.
According to the National Star College's website, '
