Actor Steve Huison is selling a range of artworks featuring 20 of his former Coronation Street co-stars to raise money to keep a mental health service afloat.

Talented artist Mr Huison, of Shipley, created the charcoal drawings – complete with information about the Coronation Street stars – during breaks in filming the hit soap, in which he played long-haired layabout Eddie Windass.

The 48-year-old actor is now selling prints of the artworks on an internet auction site to raise funds for Shoestring Theatre, a company he set up to run a project called Hospital To Home providing drama workshops for people with mental health problems.

He said: “The prints are of the large charcoal drawings I did of cast members while I was working on Coronation Street and they include an interview with them as well, so that people can get a bit more information about the actors, rather than their characters.

“People who want to get into acting can read about the actors behind the characters to break down some of the mystique.”

The 20 originals, of actors including William Roache (Ken Barlow), Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster) and Katy Cavanagh (Julie Carp), were sold for about £7,000 at auction in Manchester.

Proceeds from the sale went towards funding the Hospital To Home weekly workshops at Airedale General Hospital in Steeton, near Keighley and Victoria Hall, Saltaire.

For the past four years the project has been funded by Bradford and Airedale Primary Care Trust (PCT) and national charity the Lankelly Chase Foundation but much of the £20,000-a-year funding has now been axed.

Mr Huison said he hoped to raise much-needed funds by auctioning the prints on eBay. They are also for sale for £50 on the Shoestring Theatre website.

He said: “We are hoping to keep operations ticking over.

“We may have to reduce the service a bit but not scrap it altogether.

“We have built up quite a membership and we don’t want to leave people high and dry.

“During a recession, mental health services are one of the first things that will be cut and that is the time when people need them most.”

Meanwhile, Mr Huison has organised another fundraising event at Caroline Street Social Club, Saltaire, on September 9.

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