Countdown's Richard Whiteley showed off his flair for unusual jackets when he received one printed with £50 notes to mark £200,000 raised by Grattan for charity.

The Bradford-born presenter was awarded the specially-made coat during a celebrity lunch at the company's headquarters on Ingleby Road.

And a £200,000 cheque was presented to the Marie Curie appeal to help build the new £5.2million hospice on Leeds Road, one of the most advanced in Europe.

Sporting the jacket in the staff canteen, Richard said: "It's unique. And to have raised £200,000 - that's a lot of money. That's more than Carol Vorderman earns in a day!"

Richard has been working with the Marie Curie appeal team since it was launched last year. "It's a great project for Bradford," he said. "It's sad that we have to have such a centre but it will help put Bradford on the map."

Grattan staff first chose to support the hospice 18 months ago and surpassed their target of £100,000 within six months. The appeal has now reached £3 million.

Fundraising events have included a Grattan golf day, race nights at the Cedar Court hotel and raffles. And company bedding buyer, Janine Pickard, reached an individual total of £10,000 through sponsorship in mountain bike races.

Paula Bamford, chairman of the Marie Curie committee at Grattan, said: "It's a local charity and close to everybody's hearts. We wouldn't normally support a charity for this length of time because support dwindles. I think the most we've ever raised before is £80,000."

Cancer rates in Bradford are seven per cent higher than England as a whole, causing 24 per cent of deaths. The hospice on Leeds Road will be open to patients within 12 months and is the Lord Mayor's Appeal charity.

Regional fundraiser Brian Curran said: "It's a great tribute to all the staff at Grattan. Apart from an anonymous donation of quarter of a million pounds at the start of the appeal, it's the biggest individual amount we've had."

Richard's coat of cash will appear on Countdown in March or April and will be auctioned.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.