Fundraisers feel they are now very much in the driving seat in achieving their aim of raising the final £300,000 needed for the museum project after recruiting a local businessman to their ranks.

David Hobin, owner of car dealership Hobin of Bury, has generously donated a SEAT Ibiza which will be raffled off over the next 12 months.

Tickets are on sale at £1 each and the winner will be unveiled when the new museum opens next year on April 25 - the 94th anniversary of the Lancashire Landings at Gallipoli.

It was at Gallipoli where the Fusiliers were rewarded for their most celebrated act of bravery when six Victoria Crosses were won before breakfast.

In total, the Fusliers won more VCs in the First World War than any other British regiment, with a total of 18.

Lieutenant Colonel Eric Davidson, director of the Fusilier Museum project, welcomed Mr Hobin's support.

He said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome David on board.

"We have one year to raise the £300,000 needed to complete the museum and the donation of the Seat car will go a long way to helping us achieve our aim."

Mr Hobin, who has dealerships in Bell Lane, Bury, as well as in Manchester and Preston, said: "My children were born in Bury and I have a nephew who is serving in the armed forces.

"The Fusilier Museum is an important addition to the town's attractions and I am delighted to give my support to such a great cause."

The multi-million pound museum will be housed in the former Bury Arts and Craft college in Broad Street./ It will be dedicated to the 300-plus years history of the regiment - from its early days when it was known as the Twentieth Foot and then the Lancashire Fusiliers, to its present day title of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Raffle tickets for the car can be bought from the existing museum at Wellington Barracks in Bolton Road or from the Mill Gate shopping centre's information stand on market days.