A DISABLED Blackburn poet is hoping to see his life's work on sale in bookshops before he dies as a tribute to his late wife who died in his arms.

Michael Kelly, 52, of Mary Street, Audley, suffers from progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) -- the same condition that his wife Rita died of in 1997.

The talented wordsmith has been writing poetry for more than 20 years and now hopes to see his work reach a wide audience as a testament to his life and as a public tribute to Rita.

Blackburn-born Michael served as a soldier in Germany and worked as a prison officer in London before he retired on ill-health grounds in 1987. He was diagnosed with MS in 1990 and met fellow-sufferer Rita in Mill Hill shortly after.

The couple had been married for three years when she died in his arms in 1997.

Since his wife's death Michael says his poetry has become a tribute to her and he has also started writing an autobiography.

Michael, who is wheelchair-bound and spends most of his time writing, has already paid more than £1,000 to have 13 books of his work printed.

But now he says he wants to attract the interest of a major publisher to get his work read by a wider audience. Michael said: "My main inspiration is Keats. I visited a house he lived in once and wrote a poem at the desk there.

"I write most of my work as a tribute to Rita.

"I shared my life with an angel while we were together and it was the best time of both of our lives.

"She loved my work and when she died I wrote poems for her, which was really difficult.

"The same illness that killed her will see me off too at some time and I would like to see my work published first.

"I'm hoping to get some of it typed up and to send it off to places, then I can see it in bookshops for people to read."