A crowd of thousands turned out to welcome Leo Sayer back home when he performed in Worthing.

More than 5,000 fans packed the Steyne Gardens to see the singer who was brought up in the Worthing area and whose international career started while he was living on a houseboat in Shoreham in the early Seventies.

The audience also enjoyed an open-air free concert on the seafront organised by the Worthing-based commercial radio station Splash FM.

Among them was Brighton businessman David Courtney and his family. David, along with the late Adam Faith, discovered Leo's talent after putting an advertisement in The Argus in 1972 asking for local singers and bands to audition.

Leo performed many well-known hits on Saturday, including When I Need You, The Show Must Go On and Orchard Road.

The concert also featured the Chris Simmonds Band and Nixon, a group of former Northbrook College students who won a battle of the bands contest to decide who would play alongside Leo.

Leo told fans: "It's great to be back. You have made an old man feel very happy. It is just like old times. I must come home more often."

Leo was introduced on stage by DJ and TV presenter David Hamilton who attracted wolf whistles when he put on a gold lam jacket.