COLIN COOPER will star at a charity dinner next month uniting three popular TV pundits to raise money for the Finlay Cooper Fund.

Tyne Tees TV Soccernight show trio of Cooper, John Beresford and Kevin Ball will star at the dinner, while commentator and Soccernight presenter Roger Tames will compere the evening.

The dinner, being held at Ramside Hall in Durham on Thursday October 18, is to raise funds for the Finlay Cooper Fund.

"The work of Finlay's Fund is long-term and will hopefully continue to benefit charities in the years to come," said Boro coach Cooper.

"Events like this will only help and if we can do that by enjoying what should be a fun evening at the same time then it will be a great night all round."

Sunderland legend Ball, who played 340 games for the Black Cats between 1990 and 1999 and is currently the club's Academy assistant manager, said: "It should be a fantastic evening.

"It's three familiar faces from the Soccernight programme and we always enjoy a good bit of banter, both between ourselves and with fans from all three clubs, so this should be a fun evening and I'm really looking forward to it."

Beresford played almost 200 games for Newcastle between 1992 and '98 and was part of Kevin Keegan's golden era at St James' Park.

"I've got a few stories to tell!" he said. "But all of them are good humoured, and I'm sure there'll be a lot of laughs with the lads as well.

The Finlay Cooper Fund was set up by Cooper in memory of his son, Finlay.

The fund benefits several local charities with money generated by Cooper's testimonial last summer and events like the Soccernight dinner.

The dinner will act as a warm-up for Soccernight's return to our Tyne Tees screens in early November.

Organiser Martin Walker said: "It promises to be a very popular event. We have three players from the big three teams in the North East who were popular during their playing days at their respective clubs and each have their own stories to tell, and their own experiences.

"This is very much a celebration of North East football and will also raise some cash for what is a tremendous, local cause, so I'm very hopeful that tickets will be at a premium."

Tickets cost just £40 (£400 for a table of 10), while there are also corporate and VIP packages available.

To buy tickets or to make an enquiry, call or text Martin Walker on 0785 8585410 or e-mail: martinwalker50@hotmail.com.