A CONCERT in aid of Wirral Autistic Society’s Lifetime Appeal will be staged next week.

Featuring Great Sutton Male Voice Choir and award-winning mezzo-soprano Vicky Aindow, Songs from the Shows will take place at Heswall Hall on Thursday July 18.

The male voice choir was formed 66 years ago and has picked up numerous awards performing all over the country, including the Royal Albert Hall, and abroad. Vicky Aindow, originally from Formby, returns to Merseyside specially for the concert.

She recently finished an operatic degree course at Birmingham Conservatoire and has competed in and won many competitions. She now plans to pursue post graduate studies in London and hopes for a professional career in opera.

Looking forward to the concert, Wirral Autistic Society fundraiser Rick Myers said: "The concert promises to be a great night out with the choir and Vicky performing songs from the best-loved musical shows."

The Lifetime Appeal was launched in February to raise £755,000 to completely redevelop its original home, Raby Hall, to provide state of the art self-contained accommodation for eight people suffering from autism.

This will be followed by the redevelopment of the society's four other properties at Raby. In all the work is expected to take ten years and cost in the region of a further £2.5m.

Rick continued: “While the society's facilities provide a fantastic service they are dated and far from ideal.

“None of the rooms has its own bathroom, the corridors are narrow and claustrophobic and the downstairs rooms are noisy.

“Under the first phase of the appeal the new building will provide purpose-built accommodation designed specifically for those with autism.

“Good quality residential accommodation designed specifically for those with autism is in very short supply.

“There are only 3,000 places available throughout the UK to provide for half a million sufferers. We want to build something that will not only improve the quality of life for those with autism – we want to build something that we can leave for future generations.”

Further information on the Lifetime Appeal and ways of helping to raise funds are available on www.wirral.autistic.org or 0151 643 5540

The July 18 concerts starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets, £6, are available from Rick Myers on 07887 631218, rick.myers@wirral.autistic.org