A GUITAR used by rock and roll legend Buddy Holly on his only UK tour has made a return to Bradford.

The rare instrument, a Hofner President, was used by Holly to write songs and practise for the 1958 gigs, which included a week-long run at Bradford's Gaumont Theatre, latterly the Odeon.

At the end of the tour, Holly gave the guitar to entertainer Des O'Connor, who had shared the bill as compere and comedian, who sold it to the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation (BHEF) in 2010.

The guitar was briefly back in Bradford before it is taken to Lubbock in Texas, US, by Peter Bradley junior, BHEF's board director, to be put on display at the Buddy Holly Centre.

"Bradford was one of the gigs Buddy played with Des, so it was great to take the guitar and get some pictures at a venue it was actually used," said Mr Bradley, of Harrogate.

When Buddy Holly and the Crickets began their stint at the Gaumont Theatre on Monday, March 10, 1958, the performance drew a scathing review from Telegraph & Argus critic Peter Holdsworth.

He noted the "fanatical reception" received by the band, but labelled Holly a "screeching guitar player" and "a foot-stamping, knee-falling musician".