A FIVE-star hotel in India will have a little piece of the North-East in it when a Darlington restaurateur transports a charity shop find 5,000 miles to Bangalore.

Mohammed Miah, proprietor of Akbar The Great Indian Restaurant, in Bondgate, Darlington, had been scouring the country for a baby grand piano to take pride of place in the lobby of his new hotel being built in India.

But Mr Miah needed to look no further than St Teresa's Hospice superstore, off McMullen Road, where a baby grand had been donated to the charity.

Built originally by Challen for Selfridges, London, the baby grand still carries the ‘by Royal Appointment’ mark, but is in need of a full refurbishment.

Instruments in full working order can cost as much as £10,000 and Mr Miah plans to spend around £1,000 having it restored to full working order in India.

Eventually, it will be painted white and be played in the lobby by a professional pianist in his new five-star hotel which is under construction in Bangalore.

He said: “I am looking for another three and was delighted to find this one in St T’s Superstore. I had been looking all over and ended up finding this one on my doorstep.

“The St T’s Superstore is brilliant. The staff are so friendly and helpful and the proceeds go to continue the work of the hospice which is such a great cause. I like to do as much as I can for charity. We're only here once so we have to help each other.”

St T’s retail manager, Marjorie McIntyre, said: “Mohammed is a great supporter of the hospice and we were thrilled that he was so pleased with his purchase.

“The baby grand is a lovely piece of furniture and we were delighted to receive it, but it needs a lot of work before it can be played as an instrument.

"It's such a lovely thought that it will bring pleasure to people for many years to come in the new hotel in Bangalore.”