LOSING his job after ten years at Morrison's town centre store was the best thing that ever happened to Mark Crook.

The 33-year-old, who was made redundant when the shop closed at the weekend, has swapped the ringing of cash tills for the sound of his own singing.

The crooner from Somerset Road, Deepdale, Preston, has penned scores of tunes and now plans to use his redundancy cash to go on a spending spree for the latest recording equipment.

And Mark has just won a national singing competition at a holiday centre in South Devon, which he says was the perfect 'kick up the backside', to force him into action.

He said: "I was shocked when I lost my job but I was in a bit of a rut. I've never had the spare cash to spend on hi-tec recording gear but now's my chance. It sometimes takes a shock like this to make you move on."

Mark used to play with local band Osiris until they split ten years ago. Since then, he's swamped publishers with songs and some have been snapped up, waiting for top names to record them. Country singer Lisa Day is set to perform some of his tunes in her next tour.

Mark added: "I was so nervous before I went on stage in Devon, I had to go for an eight-mile run beforehand to calm down. I really enjoyed it and got a good reception from the crowd. Now I've been encouraged to try singing my own stuff solo."

In the meantime, Mark still works in supermarkets - his new job is in the grocery department at Sainsbury's.

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