A TRAINEE opera singer forced to drop out of his course because he could not afford to pay the fees hopes to raise cash through a concert.

Full bass Edric Waghorn, 26, who lives in student halls in Creek Road, Deptford, has had to abandon his foundation music course at Trinity College of Music, in King Charles Walk, Greenwich.

If he does not raise the £6,000 needed to pay for his fees by the time it finishes in mid-July, the thousands of pounds and time he has spent studying since September last year will have been wasted.

Without completing a foundation course Mr Waghorn would not be able to take up a degree course or train further to become an opera singer.

Mr Waghorn said: "I have had little or no help for the foundation course and cannot afford to complete it. I have been trying to raise money for the course but have had no joy and had to quit."

Musician friends have agreed to help MrWaghorn by putting on a concert with him in a desperate bid to raise the funds. The college has agreed to let him use a hall on its site as a venue for his concert on a date to be announced.

A member of staff at Trinity College of Music, which moved to the World Heritage grounds of the former Royal Naval College in August 2001, said: "From all accounts Edric is a hard worker and his teachers are keen to get him back."

A Trinity College spokesman said: "A lot of students do fundraising of their own and we encourage it. Unfortunately the Foundation Studies Programme does not attract Government funding."

To find out more about the concert, to buy a ticket or make a donation, call Trinity College switchboard on 020 8305 4444.