Nottinghamshire County Council has bought the consoles for a number of day and community support centres and care homes across the county — where they are proving extremely popular.

Mansfield's Dallas Street Day and Community Centre is one location which now has the Wii machines and manager Len Miller says they have given a range of health and social benefits to those with disabilities.

He told Chad: "The Wiis are great for developing cognitive ability, motor skills and social relationships. The service users are delighted with them.

"Something like a Wii produces immediate benefits in terms of their social skills, relationships and feeling of well-being. Many of the service users live alone and can feel isolated — part of our aim is to develop a feel-good factor.

"I think it has made the difference for them in terms of how they feel about themselves and each other and reducing their sense of isolation. It is a fun thing for them to do."

Mr Miller added that the centre had a range of games, such as 10-pin bowling, boxing and golf, and tailored a programme for each person so they could play the game which would benefit them most.

And service user Ben Elliott told Chad: "It is good for co-ordination — that is why they bought it for us, for exercise and co-ordination."

A Wii console has also been installed at Ashfield Day and Community Supp-ort Service, Mansfield's Maun View care home, Boughton's Bishops Court care home and Three Spires in Southwell.

The Nintendo Wii is a hand-held console where people play games by actually making the movements they would need to play the sport.

They are thought to offer a range of benefits in giving gentle exercise for people with limited mobility, encouraging team work and improving hand-eye co-ordination skills.