A wealthy Yorkshire businessman has presented Keighley Sea Cadet Corps with a surprise Christmas gift.

Millionaire George A Moore handed over the keys to a brand new, £27,000 Ford Transit minibus to the grateful cadets at their headquarters in Marley Street.

Mr Moore, who made his fortune from his family's furniture business that started in Cottingley, made the donation through his charitable foundation.

And it was his long-established friendship with a fellow furniture magnate from Keighley which led to him helping out the local cadet group.

Knaresborough-born Mr Moore, who is a freeman of his hometown and a founder member of Bingley Lions, said: "My old friend Philip Duxbury, whose father Tom founded Magnet, rang me up to see if we could give the cadets help in buying the minibus, and this is the outcome. We also hope to help some other cadets within Yorkshire, and Keighley is going to be our guinea pig as we try to establish contacts with other units."

Mr Duxbury's wife Katherine, who is vice president of the cadets, said: "I asked if he could help us out and we are exceptionally pleased to receive such a generous gift."

Sea Cadets president John Briggs, said: "Such a generous donation will only help us."

Gladys Briggs, who has just stepped down as chairman after 15 years, said: "We need some new blood with energy and enthusiasm to keep this unit going."

Anyone interested in joining the cadets or helping out can find out more when the group meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm at its Marley Street base.