MIKE Dawson woke up and turned on the radio at 8am. Less than an hour later he had spent £26,000 to win a song-writing master class with Bee Gees star Robin Gibb.

Mike, a retired businessman and racehorse owner who lives near Pocklingon, was the highest bidder in a BBC Radio 2 auction on Monday to raise money for Children In Need. He will now spend an afternoon at Robin's studio in his home near Oxford, where the Bee Gees star will use digital editing equipment, studio technology and a keyboard musician to give Mike advice about performing and song-writing.

Mike said: "For me, Robin is one of the best pop song writers in the world. One of my fantasies in life has always been to write a pop song - and, in my younger days, perhaps even to sing one.

"I was outbid a number of times, and at one crucial point I couldn't get back in touch because the line was busy. But, at the last minute, I got through and put in the winning bid of £26,000."

The session with Robin Gibb was one of several lots up for auction on the Wake Up With Wogan radio show. Other prizes included a car signed by the England rugby squad, which sold for £17,000, dinner with chef Raymond Blanc, which raised £11,000, and a private concert by Katie Melua, which went for £30,000.

But Mike intends to put the time he spends with Robin to good use. He told the Evening Press he hoped to use the session to compose a song to raise money for York Minster.

Mike said: "I am already a major supporter of the Minster, one of Europe's great buildings, and I see this as an opportunity to attempt to raise funds in a very substantial way - through the publication of a pop song written by myself and Robin Gibb.

"Of course he might still say no, and the idea is still at a very early stage. This really did all come right out of the blue."

Mike founded Tunstall Group, a Yorkshire-based company providing personal alarms connected to remote control response centres for the elderly. He sold the company five years ago.

Updated: 11:02 Friday, November 19, 2004