A TALENTED singer has raised £100,000 for the hospital which saved his life by staging 80 street concerts in town centres.

Gregory Paul, from Burnley, who likes to perform Frank Sinatra numbers, set up the fund-raising group Songs for Christie's in 2004 after winning his cancer battle.

Three years later and after 80 performances in town centres across the North West, including Accrington, Burnley and Blackburn, the group has hit the £100,000 milestone.

And Gregory is planning to keep the group going to raise even more cash.

A spokesman for The Christie Hospital in Manchester thanked Gregory, saying he was a "wonderful man" who "is out rain or shine entertaining people with his band of merry singers".

As well as Paul, other members of the group include Alan Hindle, a milkman who lives in Duke Street, in Clayton-le-Moors, Jim Tracy, of Greenfield Road, Colne, and Kath and Dave Sutcliffe, of Wycoller Avenue, Burnley.

They have been collecting money in buckets and sessions have brought in an average of £1,300 with the group singing all types of ballads including pop and country.

Gregory, 54, a printer at United Press, in James Street, Burnley, was spurred into action after the treatment he received for bowel cancer.

The former St. Theodore's RC High School pupil was operated on at Christie's within three weeks of the disease being diagnosed.

Gregory said: "The cancer would have killed me if it had not been treated. Christie's were fantastic but they need increasing amounts of money to save lives as cancer treatment is very expensive."

Gregory told how he came up with the unique fund-raising idea.

He said: "It started off as an idea that we would raise some cash and it snowballed from there after we found the combination of singing and street collecting was successful.

"Singing is something that comes naturally to me and I have been doing it for 20 years. It is very therapeutic and good for the soul.

"We do something unique because we perform in the streets with singers and amplification.

"It's a full-scale performance and a bit like a street concert."

The money was handed over to the hospital at the weekend in Burnley town centre.

The Christie spokesman added: "We are very grateful for the money he has raised. It will make a tremendous difference to patients."

The group is looking to recruit more singers and collectors and Mr Paul can be contacted on 07792 840820 for more information.