CARTOON fans are being given the chance to boost the Lancashire Evening Telegraph Magic Eye Appeal and get their hands on a comic original.

And the sell-off of topical sketches by our cartoonist Eric Leaver was today boosted when Blackburn sweet firm Glisten bought the first one for £500.

Readers have frequently asked for the cartoons since they began appearing in the paper last year.

Now, a personally-signed original could be yours for a donation of £5 or more to the appeal, which aims to buy a special cancer scanner that will improve diagnosis and the accuracy of treatment for East Lancashire sufferers.

Eric, who is also a feature writer for the paper, said: "There are hundreds of cartoons to choose from -- many with alterations apparent that show there's a lot of difference between an original and a copy. With each one, I try to give readers something to smile at, but I'll be smiling if my cartoons raise lots of money for this vital cause."

Bosses at old-established firm Glisten were so tickled by Eric's cartoon last month about the company's multi-million-pound move to float on the Stock Market that they gladly made the gobstopper-sized donation in exchange for the original.

Chief executive Paul Simmonds said: "We enjoyed the cartoon -- and its reference to us already making 'hundreds and thousands.' And as a business with 70 years' connection with East Lancashire, by acquiring the original, we are only too happy to support the Magic Eye Appeal as it will be of great help to the community."

Mr Simmonds was joined in handing over the £500 donation to Eric at the firm's headquarters in Hill Street by The Glisten Company's managing director Bernard Crosby, who said the framed original would go on display in the building's reception area.

The £200,000 Magic Eye Appeal aims to buy a special scanner which will improve diagnosis and the accuracy of treatment for East Lancashire cancer victims. And said Eric: "With having hundreds of originals available, I am hoping to raise lots of money for this vital cause -- and it is really terrific that, thanks to Glisten, the first one sold has raised so much already. That's what I call sweet!"

The originals are available -- on a first-come, first-served basis -- at the front counter of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's head office in High Street, Blackburn.