TWO epic fundraising gigs featuring two Lord of the Rings stars are rocking their way to Halesworth, it was announced last night.Bernard Hill, who lives locally and played King Theoden in the films, will appear with his friend Andy Serkis, aka Gollum, at two Hope for Haiti concerts at The Cut in aid of the earthquake disaster.

TWO epic fundraising gigs featuring two Lord of the Rings stars are rocking their way to Halesworth, it was announced last night.

Bernard Hill, who lives locally and played King Theoden in the films, will appear with his friend Andy Serkis, aka Gollum, at two Hope for Haiti concerts at The Cut in aid of the earthquake disaster.

It is hoped that Mr Serkis, who is currently on the big screen playing 1970s punk singer Ian Dury in Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll, will be performing a musical number.

Meanwhile Mr Hill, who also played the tragic Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic, will be compereing the evenings.

The gigs are being driven by Mr Hill and with the help of The Cut and a variety of local groups, he's putting together two star-studded nights of entertainment.

He told The Journal he felt compelled to help the cause in Haiti after reading blogs written by people who were there after the devastating earthquake.

'I was knocked out with the flu round about the time and across three or four pages of The Guardian there were blogs with ordinary people writing down their feelings- and I just started crying,' he said. 'It was people saying 'we need help.'

'The number of people who died instantly, the shock of the size and range of the devastation heaped upon a nation already cripplingly poor; the children in danger; and the fact that Haiti now need one million tents as a base requirement - all these elements and more made the need to do something now.

'I think people feel like they want to do something but they don't know who to give the money to. I thought, 'why can't we do something to give the people of Halesworth and the area around Halesworth the chance to do something?'

'We will make sure that the money gets to the grass roots, and also people can feel like they're having a good time with like-minded people. They can feel part of a giving community, and that's a great feeling.'

The gigs, with two different line-ups, will take place on Friday, February 26 and Sunday, March 7.

Mr Hill said The Cut had been amazing in offering two dates for free, and that performers had been willing to drop everything to help make the event a success.

Norwich's Lee Vasey Band has already been signed up, as well as Halesworth funk-rock favourites The Fuzz and Cuban outfit Guataque.

The Journal will keep you up to date with developments as more big names are announced.