New comedians at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe face thousands of pounds of debt, says a veteran comic from Somerset.

Richard Herring, from Cheddar, who recently finished a show at the festival, believes young comedians face losses of £8,000.

Fortunately, Mr Herring sells about 300 tickets per show and makes roughly £8,000 – though he is still "in the red" after 19 Edinburgh shows, said his father Keith, who lives in Cheddar.

But Mr Herring said his son has raised more than £8,000 for cerebral palsy.