WELSH singer Aled Jones and talented young soprano Laura Wright are to headline a huge fundraising concert organised by fire-fighters from North Yorkshire.

The North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Christmas Concert will mark its 49th year in 2015 with a move to Harrogate International Centre’s main 2000-seat auditorium.

The event, which started out as a small carol concert, has traditionally been performed in the Royal Hall but now aims to raise thousands for charity by bringing big-name performers for a sell-out show in its new, larger home.

Organiser Bruce Reid, a watch manager at Acomb Fire Station, who recently received an MBE for his charity work, said: “We wanted to try to appeal to a wider audience and so we felt the time was right to include some bigger stars and that meant moving to a bigger venue.

“This will be the first time we have tried to sell out the auditorium; we have held the show there before while the Royal Hall was undergoing its big restoration but we didn’t use the whole venue. This time we have to put 2000 bums on seats.

“Aled Jones is a great entertainer and a real professional and Laura Wright is going to be the next Katherine Jenkins – she sang the national anthem at Twickenham recently. She’s absolutely fantastic.”

The North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service Christmas Concert takes place at 7pm in Harrogate International Centre on Sunday, December 20.

Tickets are on sale from Tuesday, July 21. For more information call 01423 502116 or visit www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk