Deaf children in Bradford are set to benefit from a new fund started by the Osmonds.

Following a sell-out 50-date UK tour, the Osmonds have announced they are setting up a new foundation in the UK to leave a legacy which will help deaf and hard of hearing children for years to come.

The Hearing Fund UK will raise money for children living with hearing loss and their families and each year it will choose a registered charity to be the beneficiary of its funds.

The first charity partner is The Elizabeth Foundation, a national charity with family centres based in Smith Lane, Bradford, and Portsmouth, which support infants and pre-school children with hearing loss, and their families.

Merrill Osmond and his son Justin hope that UK fans and friends will get behind the cause and help raise money for the new fund.

Merrill said it was the dream of his late mother, Olive Osmond, to help deaf children around the world and they were excited it had come to fruition in the UK, a country close to her heart.

“People don't always realise that it was because of my two deaf brothers, Virl and Tom, that the whole Osmond thing started,” he said.

“My mother and father formed the group so they could afford to buy hearing aids for them. My own son, Justin, is 90 per cent deaf as well, and that’s why this new fund is so important to me and my family.”

Justin, a philanthropist and motivational speaker, set up the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund in the US in honour of his grandmother and said he was now excited to see it reaching around the world.

Shirley Metherell, founder of The Elizabeth Foundation and mother to Elizabeth who was born deaf, said: “We are delighted to be working with The Hearing Fund UK and are overwhelmed by their generosity. The Osmonds have a unique insight into childhood deafness, which makes them a wonderful partner.”

A fundraising gala hosted by lead singer Merrill will take place in September in Leeds.

The event will be attended by Loose Women's Jane McDonald and Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood.

For more information on the fund and the gala or to donate to the fund, visit: hearingfund.org.uk.