An artist spent months tracking down celebrities to raise funds for a children’s charity.

Kylie Minogue, Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim, Chris Eubank and Steve Coogan are among seven celebrities who have signed portraits for The Rockinghorse Appeal grand draw.

The 16in by 12in canvas paintings have been produced by Brighton artist Mervin Etienne, who sought out the stars and persuaded them to sign.

Mervin, 40, who sells his work from a stall in Kensington Gardens, Brighton, said: “It all started when I did a big painting of the Rat Pack and it raised more than £1,000 for charity.

“It got me thinking so I produced some more paintings and set out to get them signed. I chose Rockinghorse because they do so much for sick kids in Sussex. As a father myself I can’t bear to see children suffer.

“I used to see the likes of Norman Cook and Steve Coogan around Brighton so I waited until I spotted them again and approached them. They were all very friendly and open to the idea.”

Mervin got hold of Kylie through his sister Valerie, who worked as a backing singer for the pop princess, and knew former Bros frontman Luke Goss, singer Linda Lewis and Big Brother winner Pete Bennett personally.

Rockinghorse is an independent charity that helps Sussex children in hospital, by providing electrical equipment, games, furniture and even specialist equipment to make surgery faster or less painful.

Gavin Fisher, chief executive of Rockinghorse, said: “We are hugely grateful to Mervin, as it is an unusual, but highly sought-after prize and any money raised will make a big difference to our capacity to make life better for children in hospital.”

Raffle tickets are being sold by text or online, and participants are instantly given a ticket number.

All of the numbers will be placed into a random number generator, and the winners will be drawn by children at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton on October 30.

Tickets cost £3 by text and £2 online. To enter, text NOW to 60155 or go to artistmerv.com.

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