WANNABE pop idols are showing off their talents at a pub idol competition being held for charity.

Martin Fletcher was so grateful for the care his mother was given at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, that he and his brother-in-law Graham Cutler decided to raise funds for the hospital.

His mother, Pamela, 64, suffered an aneurysm - an excessive swelling in the wall of an artery - and was treated in the vascular unit.

Mr Fletcher and Mr Cutler, who own The Royal Bar and The Railway Arms, at Brotton, are holding the contest at their pubs, which are next door to each other.

They have donated £1,000 to the prize fund and a quad bike, worth about £800, for a raffle prize.

Heats for the contest will run every Sunday with the grand final on December 19.

All money raised will go to the vascular department at the James Cook University Hospital.

Mr Cutler said: "We are so grateful for the help of Dr Andrew Parry and his team. We didn't think she would survive. We're organising this to say thank you.

"It's something different and we hope with the prize money we're offering - £500 first prize, £250 second prize, £150 third and £100 fourth - that it will be a great success."