PLANS are being made for a huge choral concert in Huddersfield to raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami crisis.

Members of New Mill Male Voice Choir were so shocked by the devastation caused by the Boxing Day tidal wave that they decided they must help.

They are contacting other choirs to see if they will take part.

Kirklees mayor Clr Mary Harkin has agreed to host the concert and the fee for using the hall will be met by her office.

A spokesman for Kirklees Cultural Services said: "There will be no charge to the choir. Details are currently being discussed with them."

The money raised will go to aid agencies to help the millions of people left homeless and starving by the tsunami, which has killed 150,000 people.

It seriously affected Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Maldives and India.

Other countries suffered lesser effects from the tidal wave, which was caused by a huge earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Graham Dawson, chairman of the New Mill choir, said plans for the concert were at an early stage.

He is in talks with several other choirs to see if they want to perform at the event.

He said:

"If we can fill the hall and charge £10 a ticket, then have a collection, we could raise about £10,000.

"We are all enthusiastic about it."

* More stories emerged of Britons caught up in the disaster, including that of the mother and stepfather of TV gardener Charlie Dimmock.

Sue Kennedy, 59, and her husband Rob, 60, of West Wellow, Hampshire, were in the Thai resort of Phuket when the massive waves struck. Nothing has been heard from them since.

Ms Dimmock's father Terry said: "Charlie is worried sick about her missing mother. We have not heard any news at all about Sue and Rob which is very frustrating."

The father of the youngest known British victim spoke of how his two-month-old son died in his arms.

Richard Smith said he clung grimly on to baby Charlie as a huge 20ft wave sent them tumbling helplessly into the sea in Sri Lanka, but he realised the youngster had died when he found refuge.

* The British Government confirmed a team of 120 Gurkhas will be sent to Indonesia.

The troops from the 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles are based in nearby Brunei.

HUDDERSFIELD'S newest community centre is to hold a major fundraising event to help the victims of the tsunami disaster.

The event will be held at the Dram Centre, off Ridgeway in Dalton, on Sunday, January 16.

It will start at 10am and go right through the day and into the evening.

It kicks off with a table top sale and raffles along with a fitness competition in the gym.

There will be a quiz at 4pm and bingo at 6.30pm.

Centre manager Jill Sykes said: "We thought we should put the centre to good use after the disaster and so have lined up a whole day of events."

People who want to hire a table to sell items will pay £5 and can keep anything else they make.

The centre will be also selling items, with every penny bound for the disaster appeal. It wants good-quality toys, clothes, books, videos and other items.

Fitness competition entrants will have to pay £5.

Anyone wanting to buy from the stalls will have to pay a 50p entry fee, for the appeal.