FOOTBALL legend Diego Maradona is helping a restaurant mark the Chinese New Year by raising thousands for charity.

Two exclusive charity evenings will be held at the Ocean Palace Cantonese restaurant, Bolton Road, to raise money for the Darwen branch of Macmillan Nurses.

Among the auction items are Maradona's number ten blue and white Argentina shirt signed by the star and Andrew Flintoff's cricket shirt signed by the England hero himself.

Guests will also have the opportunity to bid for signed home shirts belonging to Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Manchester United's Christiano Ronaldo, as well as an Ireland shirt signed by former international Roy Keane.

Manager Graham Tsang, 24, decided to hold the two events, on Monday and Tuesday (February 6 and 7), to coincide with the Chinese New Year.

In a similar event last year the restaurant raised £5,000 for Breakthrough Cancer but Mr Tsang is hoping this year's auction will be even more successful.

The signed shirts have been bought from a private collector and all have certificates of authenticity.

Mr Tsang said: "I am really pleased to have managed to get the Maradona shirt and I'm hoping that it gets a lot of high bids. There will be a reserve price of £500 which is what I paid for it and any profit over and above that will go to straight to the charity.

"There will be a reserve of about £295 on the Roy Keane shirt but customers who have heard about the auction have already started putting bids in.

"It should be a good night as there are a lot of people already showing an interest but it would be nice if local people ended up with the shirts.

"I had a few contacts of private collectors and I started getting a bit carried away even thought I don't know that much about football."

There will also be a raffle featuring Oriental gifts and a performance by lion dancers.

Guests should arrive by 7.30pm each night ahead of the banquet at 8pm.

'Problem' is solved

THREE houses are to be built on a "problem site" blighted by fly tipping.

The former sausage-casing factory site off Noble Street, Rishton had permission for six houses but a new planning application has now been approved.

Coun Dave Parkin told Hyndburn Council's planning committee: "It is an abysmal site, this development can only do good."