A WORCESTERSHIRE author has penned a series of children's books in a bid to raise awareness about a muscle-wasting disease.

Haydn Bebb first created the Montague Dragon series when his son, now aged 17, was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy nearly 15 years ago.

But the series has now been snapped up by publishers, and is being backed by teenage singer Charlotte Church in a bid to raise cash for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

"What I wanted to do was maximise funds for the campaign," said Mr Bebb, a teacher.

"As soon as my son was diagnosed with the disease it was devastating for both me and my wife.

"We set out to raise cash and you name it, we did it - car boots, discos and even carnivals."

After shelving the project for a while, Mr Bebb eventually decided to re-launch the series of books about Montague Dragon, whose initials are purposely the same as muscular dystrophy.

"There's a whole series of things we want to plan. He's got his own website, starting this weekend, and we are running workshops in schools to help children learn how to write children's books," added Mr Bebb, who lives in Kidderminster.

Although the books, which are aimed at three to eight-year-olds, do not discuss the disease, Mr Bebb and publishers DreamStar Books will be donating a percentage of the profits to the campaign.

The organisation funds world class medical research and provides support, information and advice to families living with the condition.

"Our thanks go especially to Haydn Bebb and DreamStar books for donating a percentage of the retail price to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign," said campaign executive director Christine Cryne.

"Montague Dragon will help increase awareness about this debilitating condition, for which we have no cure."

There are 17 books planned for the series, each with an accompanying cassette and are designed for bedtime reading.

The first book, entitled The Lonely Dragon will be available in WH Smith, Sainsbury and Waterstones from today.