After receiving the devastating news his friend had terminal cancer, a coach driver compiled a book of humorous stories to raise money for her family.

When Andrew Baynes, of Newlands, Bridewell, was told the woman, whose daughter goes to school with his children, had just months to live he made it his mission to raise funds so she could go on one last family holiday.

However, as her condition deteriorated it became obvious she was too ill to travel so he decided to split the money from the sale of Laughter is the Best Medicine between Pilgrims Hospices, a charity that is helping her, and her family, so they can have a break together when she is gone.

Mr Baynes, 48, said: “It’s a collection of stories that give you a bit of a laugh, the kind of things people share on social media. I’ve been hunting hard online since about December to find them.

“I’d been thinking about ways of raising money. I’m not a physical person so I couldn’t do a run or climb a mountain but I have qualifications in IT so I decided to use those skills.

“At the end of the day even if I sell one copy it’s more money than we would have had before. I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for my friend.”

Anecdotes in the book, which is only available online, include a bungling burglar who ended up hanging upside down from a window, a teenager who tried to steal petrol from a police car not realising an officer was sitting in it, and a chicken that caused multiple deaths when it got stuck down a well.

Laughter is the Best Medicine is available for £5.99 from www.lulu.com or via iBooks. A Kindle-friendly version of the book was due to be released this week.