A Manx concert has raised funds to help a man in India recover from paralysis.

Eric Kelly and other island musicians collected £900 at a concert aimed to help Prem Kumar, a young man from Vishakapatnam who was was left almost totally paralysed after a motorcycling incident.

The concert took place at St John’s Methodist Church and raised £800 on the night and received £100 a week later.

Eric, an organiser of the event, was moved to help Prem after reading about him in a Grace Third World Fund newsletter.

Ray Richardson, the chairman of the charity, said: ’Eric has been a supporter of the Peel-based charity Grace Third Fund for many years.

’In 1998 the charity raised money to pay for an operation for a little boy who had been born with his knee joints back to front.

’This would have been easily correctable in our part of the world but there is no NHS in India and an operation which cost £2,000 was far beyond the means of his family.

’He would have spent his life begging on the streets if people from the Isle of Man had not taken him to their hearts and raised money for his operation.

’Eric, along with Peel’s local junior school raised the money for an operation, and Raju was walking a few months later,’ he said.

’Eric took someone else to his heart recently, when he read about the plight of a young man called Prem Kumar who had been almost totally paralysed when he was knocked off his motor bike a couple of years ago.

’He was a trained pharmacist and his life was ruined. His parents, who were professional people, gave up their own jobs to care for him and they sold almost everything they had.

’They couldn’t afford any medicatons and Prem Kumar just lay on his bed day after day, only able to move his arms and his head a little.’

Eric and his band members Granville Christie and Jim Maddocks, who are known as ’Keyboards R Us’, gave performances on the night.

They were supported by singer Hannah Simpson, Nick Saunders and the Three Basses Trio, which consists of Mike Durber, Mike Cross and Bill Corlett.

Mike Durber brought the event to a close by singing ’I watch the Sunrise’, which Mr Richardson said ’you could have heard a pin drop’.

Cakes and tea were also provided on the night by Eric’s wife, Sheila, and others.

Mr Richardson said, ’The money is to be used for intensive physiotherapy five days a week for an hour or so each session.’

The money raised will cover six months of treatment.

Ray will be visiting Prem in March to check on his improvement.

’Grace Third World Fund would like to say thanks to Eric and all the talented folk who helped raise money for Prem Kumar,’ Ray added. ’Eric plays for charities and concerts all over the island, and if you want a good night of entertainment we can guarantee you can rely on Eric.’