The South Wales Argus has helped a dying man’s dream come true by playing his music through the paper’s website.

Daniel Cook, (24), has a rare bone cancer and recorded his own songs to leave a legacy for friends and family.

When Daniel told the Argus he wanted his music to be heard by a wider audience, the paper podcast two of his songs at www.southwalesargus.co.uk and directed readers to it from the paper.

Assistant editor Mark Templeton said: “It seemed like the obvious thing to do. Not only did we bring the story to our readers but we gave them extra value by allowing them to download and listen to it.

“This shows that the days are gone when publishing a story is all you do.

“We’re hoping a record executive might pick up on it because he’s done a couple of tracks and they’re really good. If Daniel got a hit record out of it we’d be thrilled.”

The songs formed part of a package of new features on the Argus website which also includes video footage of a local family’s holiday from hell in Bulgaria.

The paper started its video coverage with a short film from the press conference of two miners who scooped £11.m on the lottery, and the footage was on the web before local TV stations had the chance to broadcast it on their bulletins.