A group of New York fire-fighting heroes will be coming to Baildon to raise money for charity.

The Engine 26 branch of Manhattan Fire Department - heavily involved in the September 11 atrocities in New York - will be sending over eight of their members to take part in the annual Brain Close Celebrity Golf Classic on May 29.

The event will be taking place at the Marriott Hollins Hall Hotel at Baildon, with a gala dinner following later that evening.

Joining the New York firefighters in the charity event will be their West Yorkshire counterparts and a host of celebrities and sporting heroes hoping to raise £150,000 for a new diagnostic ultrasound scanner at Bradford Royal Infirmary, as part of the Hospital Heartbeat Appeal.

Yorkshire legend Brian Close will be joined by his old Headingley team-mates Ray Illingworth and Fred Trueman, Ian Botham, and the current World's Number One batsmen and new England one-day captain Michael Vaughan.

Other sportsmen involved include former Leeds United stars Norman Hunter, Duncan McKenzie, Trevor Cherry, Jim Melrose and Bradford's former World Snooker Champion Joe Johnson.

Comedians Rory Bremner and Norman Collier will be among the celebrities also teeing off.

Alec Bloom, chairman of the Heartbeat Appeal, said: "We are delighted that these New York Firemen are joining us for this year's celebrity golf fundraiser.

"After such a traumatic time it is fantastic that they have made time to help us tackle heart disease and raise money for a life-saving new scanner.

"The event will also be making a donation to the Twin Towers disaster appeal in honour of the brave firefighters who lost their lives on September 11."

The Heartbeat Appeal has been working with West Yorkshire hospitals for more than a decade, raising more than £1.5 million to pay for much-needed heart disease equipment.