Veteran comedian Ken Dodd has joined forces with the Southport Visiter to raise money for the restoration of Southport Pier.

The ‘tattifilarious’ funnyman helped the newspaper launch an appeal which involves readers ‘buying’ a plank for the brand new pier.

By paying £50, readers will be able to sponsor the individual plank which will be permanently installed in the deck of the pier.

All proceeds from the sale of the planks will go towards the restoration of the pier – which Ken, King of the Diddymen, is very excited about.

He joked: “How tickled I am to launch this appeal, backed by the Visiter. Go on missus, surprise your loved one on Christmas Day by getting their name on a plank for evermore.”

Pier Trust chairman David Knowles said: “We have set ourselves a target to have 2,000 planks sponsored during millennium year 2000. So far the number of planks sponsored is approaching 1,250 but we need just 750 more.”

The Visiter plans to distribute leaflets to houses and businesses in the area to gather support for the campaign.

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