TWO members of staff at a Basingstoke residential lettings agency are polishing up their Polish in a welcoming gesture to the number of former Eastern Bloc workers seeking rented accommodation in the town.

Hannah Pratt and Rebecca Workman are spending two hours a week at a 10-session crash course in Polish at Queen Mary's College.

They are even planning a long weekend in the Polish city of Krakow, in January, to put their new language skills to the test.

Miss Pratt said: "It's a very complicated language and, although our vocabulary is limited, we're enjoying trying to learn enough to show some friendliness and welcome the new Polish community to the town.

"There has been an explosion in the number of Polish tenants wanting to rent property in Basingstoke in the past 18 months, and they are very nice tenants for our landlords."

The pair have the full support of Wendy Smith, an associate director of Simmons and Sons, who said: "Because such a large proportion of our town centre properties are letting to tenants coming from the old Eastern Bloc countries, it occurred to us that it was good customer service for our staff to try to master some Polish."

Simmons and Sons has recently expanded its rental department by buying the managed lettings portfolio of Lane Fox.

The Basingstoke office will now cover the counties of Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey.

Mrs Smith added: "It's the way forward for us to give an even broader spectrum to our market, which starts with town centre properties and goes up to country houses."

The acquisition also sees a former member of staff return to Simmons and Sons. Wendy King has spent the past five years as a lettings negotiator at Lane Fox, but is now back with her original employer.

Mrs King was secretary to the senior partner of Simmons and Sons between 1982 and 1988 and will now provide a continuous link for the former Lane Fox clients.