A business owner took to the podium to delver a keynote speech – just days after running a programme to help people nervous about public speaking.

Martin Haigh, founder of Brighouse-based training and development company Lattitude 7, spoke about his charitable work to 140 guests at the Mirfield Rotary Charter dinner at Bertie’s Banqueting Rooms in Elland.

The Mirfield group’s 76th anniversary charter dinner aimed to raise awareness of the work carried out by Rotary for local and overseas charities.

It came just days after Martin delivered his “Stage Fright” event at Holdsworth House in Halifax which saw eight of the region’s business leaders attend to learn and develop valuable public speaking skills..

Mirfield Rotary president Sue Charlesworth said: “We initially asked Martin if he might know of a keynote speaker to provide the after-dinner speech on corporate social responsibility.

“When Martin sent me an overview of himself, I realised he was the perfect person to speak, having raised so much awareness,and funds for Working Wonders apprentice charity amongst others.”

Joe Appleyard, engineer at Severn Unival in Brighouse, who took part in the Stage Fright session, said: “The Stage Fright programme aided my understanding of the importance of projecting myself when presenting.

“This was initially out of my comfort zone, but throughout the day I became more comfortable and in turn helped to increase my confidence.”