A CONCERT by Irish supergroup The Corrs raised more than £3,000 for the British Lung Foundation's Breathe North office.

Collecting buckets were handed round after last week's concert at Newcastle's Telewest Arena and £3,145 to was donated the charity.

The Corrs have supported research into lung disease since the death of their mother, Jean, from fibrosing alveolitis, in November 1999.

The 57-year-old died in Newcastle's Freeman Hospital waiting for a lung transplant.

The family had brought her to the city from her home in Dundalk, Co Louth, Ireland, in the weeks before her death.

Beverly Wears, Breathe North regional manager, said: "We have been overwhelmed with the generosity of people from the North-East who gave so freely for such a good cause.

"Everyone knows someone who has been affected by a respiratory problem, and this has been highlighted by the wonderful gesture by the Corrs family and their many fans."

The donation will go towards funding research into the lung condition fibrosing alveolitis, which is on the increase throughout the UK and Ireland.

The British Lung Foundation is the only organisation providing information on this disease to the public and one of the few sources of funding for researchers.

The Corrs also raised more than £104,000 for the Freeman Hospital and £3,500 for the British Lung Foundation at an earlier charity concert at the Telewest Arena, in January this year