MANIC Street Preacher James Dean Bradfield has donated a rare vinyl record to raise funds for a charity which cared for his mother in her last days.

He has donated an original 7-inch of Suicide Alley to Velindre.

Only 300 copies of the band’s debut single were pressed and financed by the then unsigned band and relatives in 1988.

Velindre cared for his mother Sue before she died in 1999, aged 50.

Mr Bradfield and fellow band member Sean Moore, who grew up in Blackwood, will be trekking in Patagonia in eight weeks’ time as part of the official 150th anniversary celebrations of Welsh settlers arriving in South America and to raise funds for the charity.

The copy of Suicide Alley will be signed by Mr Bradfield, Mr Moore and the Manics' other member, Nicky Wire.

It was recorded at the Cwmfelinfach Miners’ Institute, which has since been demolished.

And Mr Bradfield said: “We saved for a year and with the help of our parents the single was completely self-financed. Only approximately 300 copies are in existence which makes it one of the most collectable Manics items. It got us our first ever review in the NME, as alternative single of the week.”

Velindre’s head of fundraising, Andrew Morris, said: “James has been a great supporter of Velindre for many years, and this is a fantastic item which will mean a huge amount to Manics’ fans.”

In July Mr Bradfield, who is a patron of Velindre, auctioned off the 12-string Fender acoustic guitar given to him by his parents on his 18th birthday and raised £3,000 for the charity.

The instrument was used on the Manics’ Generation Terrorists and Everything Must Go albums.

The auction for the record will be held on Twitter. To make a bid tweet @velindre by 5pm on Wednesday, October 7.

To sponsor Mr Bradfield and Mr Moore’s Patagonia trek, visit justgiving.com/manicspatagoniatrek.