TOP folk trio The Yetties are backing a Dorchester couple's bid to build a school in the Sudan.

They have offered to hold a concert in the Corn Exchange to raise money for Claire and Richard Budd's project to build Grace Secondary School in a poor and rural area of the Sudan.

Mrs Budd said she was delighted with the support coming from the Dorchester community for the £40,000 project.

She added they hope the Yetties will perform next May.

BBC natural history presenter Chris Packham is also backing the project. The wildlife expert will be coming to Dorchester to give a talk on photography.

The town's Casterbridge Male Voice Choir will also give a concert to raise funds. Events start tonight with a fashion show at Kingston Maurward College near Dorchester presented by Orchid and Medusa plus a DJ.

The couple are also staging a Christmas Ball at Kingston Maurward on December 21.

Mrs Budd said: "This is going to be a really swish event with swing and jazz music. It's an occasion to dress up and celebrate Christmas in style."

The couple decided to take on the project after hearing that Grace School was closing because it had lost the support it had previously had from the community of New Orleans following the city's devastation by Hurricane Katrina.

Mr Budd had visited the school on a photographic trip with the Bishop of Sherborne for the Salisbury Diocese Sudan Link.

He said: "One of the boys stood up and asked for an exact date when the school would be closing down. That's when we decided to help."

The new Grace School will be the only secondary school in its large region and will be built next to a thriving primary school at Kadugli.

Mrs Budd said £2,000 had been raised this summer through donations and street collections.

She said: "It's daunting because it's such a big project and such a lot of money to find. But we've just got to have faith and carry on."

For fashion show and Christmas Ball tickets contact the Budds by e-mail on Richard@Gracesecondaryschool.com or phone 07764 335892 or 07767 895205.