A charity was joined by volunteers, sponsors and members to launch a cafe catering for the deaf community.

Dcafe, a hub for deaf sign language users to share coffee, cake and even lunch together, was launched by the Jewish Deaf Association at their Finchley HQ in Woodside Park Road on Tuesday.

The cafe is staffed by retired or unemployed deaf volunteers, many of whom used support services provided by the JDA and have since become members, and the venue will also host a community scheme including an employment service, a yoga course and other events to bring together the community of deaf people.

Dcafe volunteer Ella Burke, who has been involved with the JDA for about a year and a half, said: "I hope the cafe will grow and I'm hoping people will consider deaf cafe for what it is.

"At the cafe you can learn sign language, meet with other deaf people and socialise."

Ms Burke also says she hopes working in the cafe team will help boost her chances of finding work outside the cafe, getting good references from the charity.

Ann Clements, the cafe's coordinator, said: "Dcafe and, in particular, our complementary Dcafe Community scheme, have been created to upskill unemployed deaf people and give them new opportunity in life that could potentially lead to paid employment.

"Our committee and hardworking deaf volunteers at Dcafe have undergone a rigorous, ongoing training programme to prepare them to run Dcafe, including food hygiene and preparation, customer service, handling cash, stock control, health and safety and first aid."

The cafe will be open every Tuesday from September 12.