IT was a star-studded event when young musicians held a charity morning in aid of this year’s Children in Need appeal.

More than 230 youngsters, aged from seven to 18, dressed as celebrities and musical figures from stage and screen at Bury Music Centre, in Mersey Drive, Whitefield, on Saturday.

They raised more than £252 for Children in Need in their morning rehearsals, during which they held a cake sale and music quiz.

Staff had the idea to dress as army majors and coal miners as a pun on the musical terms ‘major’ and ‘minor’.

Musical director and head of brass, Lawrence Yates, who dressed as an Anglo-Saxon conductor, said: “It was an excellent morning and a really good bonding exercise for all the pupils. We are hoping it will be an ongoing event.”

Groups at the centre are busy rehearsing for a host of concerts taking place in the run-up to Christmas.

These include a performance by the youth concert band, wind ensemble and senior flute group at the Elizabethan Suite of Bury Town Hall, on Tuesday, November 24.

A collection will be held at that concert too, to raise more funds for the charity.