HOLLYWOOD star Patrick Stewart's one-man show in Dewsbury is expected to have raised thousands of pounds for the redevelopment of his old youth club in Mirfield.

And Patrick, who plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has already promised to help out again with a charity auction this year.

More than 500 tickets were sold for An Evening with Patrick Stewart at Dewsbury Town Hall last Friday, giving a major boost to fundraising for the Gilder Hall Project.

Project secretary Geoff Walls said: "We are still trying to get hold of the accounts, but we will have made several thousand pounds."

The project aims to raise £50,000 to redevelop the building for community use.

Mr Walls said the star was nervous before the show, but enjoyed it and spent an hour after it talking to people and signing autographs.

He added that Patrick was impressed with youngsters in the new drama group that has just been formed by the project and who performed a prologue in song and dance.

"He was very enthusiastic and appreciative," he said.

Mr Walls said Patrick would be giving personal items to raise more money at a dinner and auction. "He is our patron and a working patron - not just a figurehead," he added.