Eddie raises £80,000 for De La Warr

The home-grown comic played to sold-out auditioriums on three nights over Easter with special charity performances.

The money raised will go towards the completion of the pavilion's education studio.

Work has currently stopped on the project due to a shortfall in the capital programme - speculated to be around 800,000 overall.

Pavilion officials say the studio will be finished later this year. Thousands of people visited the building over the weekend to see the exhibitions and use the cafe and restaurant.

Laser lights lit up the night sky to mark the arrival of one of Bexhill's favourite sons.

Saturday saw Eddie and the One Word Improv team of Neil Mullarkey, Suki Webster and Stephen Frost perform for the first time together in nine years. Their quick-fire response to words such as hammer, exfoliation and giraffe took the audience on the most surreal of comedy journeys.

Sunday saw Jo Brand mercilessly dissecting letters from the Bexhill Observer while making the audience howl with laughter with her stories of her vodka-swilling youth in Hastings and the joys of sex and motherhood. After the interval the audience were treated to a second half of stand-up from Eddie himself.

An extra gig on Easter Monday was a solo performance by Eddie. His hilarious stories include skits on Bexhill, dog chocolate, sharks and Darth Vader in the Death Star canteen.

Raised in Bexhill from an early age, Eddie's commitment to the new De La Warr Pavilion meant he and his friends gave their time completely free.

Alan Haydon, director of the De La Warr Pavilion said : "It is fantastic what Eddie and his friends have done for us and will give us a real boost towards the completion of the Studio. The whole building '“ exhibitions, caf, restaurant and roof terrace '“ was humming all holiday weekend as we welcomed thousands to people to Bexhill and the Pavilion"