A one-off spoof tabloid newspaper for Bridlington has helped raise funds for charities in the town.

Put together by former newspaperman Mike Wilson, the Bridlington Messenger aimed to “put a smile on the face of Brid” and was sold to town centre shoppers on April 1.

The 12-page publication included headlines such as ‘Ice cream banned’ and ‘Have the Martians been busy on our south foreshore?’. And all the stories were written by Mike, with many poking fun at those in authority.

Mike, who worked in newspaper production at titles such as the Bucks Herald and Driffield Times – where he had a brief spell as a reporter – also managed to persuade local businesses to advertise in the paper to cover the cost of the 3,000 print run.

And the proceeds from sales so far, totalling £300, have been split between Bridlington’s lifeboat crew, a community bus appeal, local branches of WVRS and Lions, the Pensioners Action Group East Riding and the baby unit at the town’s hopsital.

Leftover copies have been donated to local charity shops to sell, and Mike is also hoping to sell yet more and boost charity coffers even further.

Mike told HoldtheFrontPage: “The aim was to raise money for charity and I hope that more people will buy it.

“A long time ago I had an idea to do something like this in a magazine format but it didn’t look right and the stories were stuffed away in a drawer.

“But at Christmas I saw something on the Internet about a spoof newspaper which triggered a memory, and I started laying the stories out on newspaper pages.

“The creation was wonderful and it gave me a lot of satisfaction to know that people are reading it and finding it funny.”