THE widow of a former Lord Mayor, Sheriff and Honorary Alderman of York is planning another charity concert after raising £4,000 through her first three such events.

Doris Bell, whose husband Bernard died in 2014, aged 91, staged her first concert in his memory in 2015, raising funds for a major gathering of Sheriffs from all over the country in York.

She then organised a second concert early last year, this time raising £1,200 for a scouting activity centre at Stockton on the Forest which had been ransacked during a break-in.

A third one followed later last year, which raised money towards the cost of an extension at St Edward the Confessor Church in Tadcaster Road, Dringhouses.

Now she is planning her fourth such event, this time to raise money for York Against Cancer as the charity marks its 30th anniversary.

Doris, of Woodthorpe, said people in her family, including Bernard, had suffered from cancer.

She said the concert, featuring the Shepherd Brass and Concert Band playing 'a mixture if music', will take place at the church at 6.30pm for 7pm on Saturday, September 2.

Asked why she went on to organise another concert after the first one, she said: “Because people wanted another one.” She was not sure at this stage if she would organise any more in future.

Alderman Bell was a Labour councillor in York for more than three decades, after first being elected in 1971. He represented wards including Heworth, Micklegate and Walmgate and was Lord Mayor of York from 1992 to 1993, and twice served as the Sheriff of York in the 1990s.

He spent his working life on the railways, becoming a fireman and then a driver on steam trains during the war and was also branch secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen in York for many years.

His career included driving the legendary Mallard locomotive in the 1950s and he met Prince Charles when he visited the Great Gathering at the museum later in 2013, which marked the 75th anniversary of Mallard’s world steam speed record.

*Tickets for the concert, costing £8, are available by phoning 01904 709111 or Mrs Bell on 01904 704715.