A proud Yorkshireman with cerebral palsy whose computer-generated voice sounded American has spoken of his delight after he finally got a voice in his native accent.
Richie Cottingham, 26, cried tears of joy when he heard his new accent for the first time and sounded like his family and friends from Howden, East Yorks.
His speech aid used to be in a generic and robotic American accent which he hated, but he said he finally feels like he can call himself a Yorkshireman.
Richie has lived in East Yorkshire his entire life and launched an appeal in March for people in the region to come forward to help him create his own unique voice.
He said he was delighted by how the voice turned out and couldn’t wait to order his favourite drink with his new voice - a Jack Daniels and Coke.
Richie, from Howden, said: “I was very emotional they were lots of tears, tears of joy of course.
"I was incredibly happy with it and loved saying things to see how they sounded with my new voice instead of an American Robot voice.
“I didn’t know how long it would take for people to get used to hearing the new me. But everyone loves my new voice.”
Richie, who has had cerebral palsy since birth, said the Yorkshire accent which was created for him was perfect.
More than 35 people recorded their voices, but ultimately three people’s voices were blended together to create Richie’s unique accent.
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