A businessman is boosting our magical fairy appeal - with help from his customers.

Bingley-based Graham Cockroft has just set up a new business called the Double Glazing Clinic.

And he is the latest person to agree to help the Cottingley Cameras Appeal, which aims to raise £13,000 to buy the famous Cottingley Fairies photographs and the cameras used to take them.

The campaign has been launched by the Telegraph & Argus and Amateur Photographer magazine to ensure the historic artefacts stay in Bradford and go on public show instead of being sold to a private collector.

Mr Cockroft will make a donation to the appeal of £100 for every customer who has repair work to their windows carried out by his firm until the end of March - or 50 per cent of the profit he makes on the job, whichever is the higher.

"This is where my roots are and as soon as I heard about the appeal I wanted to help in some way," he said.

"I am delighted to offer some financial assistance to make sure these photographs and cameras come back to where they belong."

Mr Cockroft has only just returned to West Yorkshire after the premises of his old company were bulldozed to make way for the proposed Bingley relief road. And Mr Cockroft aims to create about 20 new jobs with his new business.

He used to be managing director of Graham's Window Centre in Park Road, Bingley. But he left the town in 1992 when the building was demolished in preparation for the building of the controversial new road.

His new company is targeted at people whose double glazing needs repairing but who have been left with worthless guarantees by companies that have gone out of business.

He even plans to use a fleet of ambulances to make his service more eye-catching. "We are looking for people who have poorly patios, ruptured rollers or disjointed doors."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.