A free app has been launched to make it easier for people with intolerances and allergies to eat out.

Caroline Oldham, a coeliac with an additional lactose allergy, found it a constant battle to find suitable restaurants for her dietary needs, even more so when travelling or abroad.

The experience was the inspiration for biteappy, the first app to comprehensively cover all dietary requirements across the world.

It has a searchable directory of restaurants with suitable menus for the entire plethora of dietary issues and allergies.

It can also be translated across 25 languages.

As well as gluten free menus, biteappy also caters for vegans, nut free, dairy free, MSG free, preservative free, Kosher, Halal and other lesser known requirements, such as celery and mustard.

Caroline, who was born in Brighton and now lives in Seaford, said: “As a coeliac with a lactose intolerance, I found it incredibly hard to locate suitable places to eat – particularly when abroad or when not in the my home town of Brighton.

“It was on a trip to Amsterdam just after Christmas, when once again I couldn’t find a place to eat, that I came up with the idea for biteappy.

“There are apps already there for gluten free requirements, but nothing that combines all dietary issues in one on a worldwide basis.

“I hope it will be helpful to the millions of people out there who find themselves in the same situation.

“The eating out experience was very difficult and sometimes I even found it embarrassing.

“A lot of waiting staff sometimes seem to make out you are being fussy rather than my just making sure that I wouldn’t be ill afterwards.

“This is usually down to a lack of understanding – which can be even more stressful when abroad because of language barriers.”

Biteappy is available in the iTunes store.