FUNNY man Josh Widdicombe is riding to the rescue of his budget-bashed old school in Ashburton.

The popular comedian is appearing at South Dartmoor Community College on September 7 to help his alma mater which needs to make £600,000 savings over two years to offset Government funding cuts.

Old Boy Widdicombe didn’t hesitate to do his bit for the college when principal Hugh Bellamy asked him if he could do the odd turn or two.

‘I asked him if he could come back and do a show for us – and his immediate answer was yes. He’s been really good in sorting out the date for us,’ said Mr Bellamy, adding: ‘We are hoping to make a significant amount from the evening.’

Tickets go on sale at the Balland Road college on June 5 with the hope that up to 300 will be up for grabs at £20 a throw.

The star of the show has promised to bring some ‘friends’ with him for the performance – although their identity is not known.

Mr Bellamy said the college had since set a ‘better than balanced’ budget to cope with the looming financial frost from Westminster.

So far no redundancies had been made, although departing staff – four non-teaching employees and three teachers - had not been replaced.

‘We are managing our funds very, very carefully. The more difficult picture for us is three years ahead,’ he warned.

Josh Widdicombe – star of The Last Leg, Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week – hit local headlines last week with his support for the planned arts centre at the Listed Methodist Church in East Street.