A COMEDIAN who once streaked across Wembley to raise cash for charity was quick off the mark to help the elderly victim of a burglary.

Chris McGlade not only returned most of the money which had been stolen from the victim, but also brought a beautician and hairdresser to help her prepare for a surprise meal.

Mr McGlade, of Redcar, was moved when he learned of the plight of 88-year-old Janie Winter, who had £2,000 in savings stolen while she was sitting in her living room - days after returning from a ten-week stay in hospital.

Thinking how much Mrs Winter reminded him of his late mother, Mr McGlade decided to raise the money she lost in the burglary to show people still cared.

He turned up at her house in Lingdale, yesterday morning with a hairdresser and a beautician, with enough time to get ready for a slap-up lunch at the Water Wheel Carvery, in Liverton Mines, with her neighbours and friends, Bill and Jean Bulman.

She was picked up by a chauffeur-driven car and taken to the pub, where Mr Winter presented her with a huge bouquet of flowers and the £1,600 he had managed to raise to date.

He said: "When I turned up at the house this morning with the beautician and the hairdresser she just burst into tears. She really couldn't believe it.

"She's had a hard life with her son dying when he was five and a husband gone too, now, and I really just wanted to show her that people still care.

"I've been amazed by the generosity of the public who seem to be really touched by her story."

He said he had collected £470 for her at the Variety Club in Nottingham and raised money last week at a live karaoke show at West Two in Redcar.

Mrs Winter, who had to go back into hospital after the shock of the burglary, said: "It was a beautiful day for me. I got a really gorgeous display of flowers.

"It was a big surprise. I really couldn't have imagined it.

"Mr McGlade is a very nice and generous man and I had a lovely meal with my two neighbours. It was lovely."