A BOY adopted by monkeys in the African bush is bringing his friends to Warrington for what promises to be a bravura performance.

The friendly face of 14-year-old John Ssebunnya masks the heartache of his mother's brutal killing and his amazing upbringing by primates in the wilds of Uganda.

But the reception, since John and fellow members of the Pearl of Africa choir arrived in the north west, has been enough to put a broad grin on his cheery face.

The colourful collective will arrive in Warrington today, Friday, for the first of two traditional renditions of Ugandan song and dance.

The first performance is at St Margaret's Church Hall, in Lindley Avenue, Latchford then the choir is set to appear at the Wycliffe Church on Monday.

Ann Collingwood helped to bring the choir to Britain and she described his experiences. She said: "The trauma has upset him a little. He stammers a lot but he is always singing and dancing."

Little gestures and movements give away the teenager's past life but he is now remarkably well-adjusted.

The physical evidence, such as scratches from swinging through the trees with the monkeys and chipped teeth from chewing nuts, are also fading with time.

He was left to fend for himself in the wild after his father murdered his mother. Only a determined battle between his village's menfolk and his primate carers rescued John from his extraordinary existence.

Today the choir, of 12 girls, seven boys and 10 adults, is receiving rave reviews wherever it travels during its three-week tour, and Warrington will probably be no exception.

But the concerts nearly never happened. They came about after a chance meeting between Ann Collingwood and Pauline Ardern, of the Stockton Heath Christian Fellowship, made it possible.

Pauline, who works at the Latchford community hall, explained: "She said that they were looking for venues and that is why they are coming to Warrington."

Rev Bill Burgess, of Wycliffe Church, added: "There is a tremendous amount of interest, just from talking to people about it."

Part of the reason behind their mission is to raise money for the orphanage, which houses some of the youngsters back home.

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