DISADVANTAGED and disabled children from across Dudley are getting the chance to watch and meet members of an internationally renowned circus.

Circus Starr, which was founded in 1987 to help raise much needed funds for local charities, will appear at Brierley Hill Civic Hall on Tuesday (January 19).

Ringmaster and juggler Gordon Marquez will be presenting the circus’ latest show ‘Pinocchio Joins The Circus’, which also features Peanuts the clown, the Human Slinkies and illusionists Scott and Mariska Garcia – all professional artists from across the globe.

Circus Starr is unique in that local businesses pay the cost of the tickets to provide free seats for disadvantaged, disabled or vulnerable children from the area.

The Brierley Hill show will also be collecting money for the Newlife Foundation, a national cause which funds specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness.

Volunteers will be joining the circus audiences with their collecting cans to raise money to help the charity’s vital work which to date, has seen more than 1,080 children receiving equipment totalling more than £1.17m.

For more information about Newlife Foundation’s work in the West Midlands visit www.newlifecharity.co.uk/westmidlands