HE is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most unpleasant men on television, murdering his way through the cast of Britain's best-loved soap.

Tonight the nation will be glued to the box in the hope of making sure that evil Richard Hillman really has met his richly-deserved end.

But while scheming Tricky Dicky has proved to be the most murderously untrustworthy character on Coronation Street, in real life he's actually proving quite a big-hearted guy.

For the spade he used to kill his first wife, Patricia, is about to be sold off in Harrogate in aid of a local children's hospice.

The implement is the very same garden tool that Hillman used to beat his former wife over the head before burying her under the footings of a luxury block of flats.

Actor Brian Capron gave the spade to Creations, the Leeds nightclub, during a recent visit so it could be auctioned off for charity.

And on Saturday night it will go under the hammer at the Majestic Hotel, in Harrogate, in aid of the Martin House Hospice at Boston Spa, near Wetherby.

Guests at the Harrogate Glitter Ball will have the chance to see, touch and then bid for the Hillman weapon to raise much needed funds for children with a life-limiting illness.

"Obviously, Brian Capron the actor is a far, far nicer person than Hillman the murderer could ever be," said a spokesman for the hospice yesterday.