STAFF and customers at a Chester bank were treated to a celebrity visit by Halifax TV advert star Howard Brown.

Howard arrived in a limousine with an entourage including a bodyguard, tour manager and promotional girls.

He signed autographs and chatted to excited Halifax customers on Friday morning.

Staff had decorated the bank with red balloons and carnations, and handed out goodie bags.

The visit was part of the Xtra Tour 2005, which will visit 270 branches in Britain to highlight Halifax products and support the £1m NSPCC challenge.

Coleen Worley, assistant manager at Chester, said: 'Now he's a super-star he is here to promote our new savings package.'

This is not the first time that Howard has visited Chester. He first made an appearance three years ago and was delighted to be back in the city.

He said: 'I love the sense of community, the quaint buildings and the relaxed pace of life.'

Since becoming the face of Halifax, Howard says his life has changed dramatically and describes it as 'strange and exciting'. He even worked with a Bengal Tiger for his last commercial.

The video was shot in Los Angeles and was directed by Jake Nava, who also directed the video for R&B superstar Beyonce's Crazy in Love.

Howard himself is no stranger to musical success - his cover version of Barry White's former number one You're The First, The Last, My Everything reached number 13 in the UK charts and Howard says that there is a 'strong possibility' he may release an album.

Despite his fame, Howard remains modest about his popularity: 'Nobody has been more surprised than me. It is a testament to how far we have come.'

But he added: 'I'm a pipe and slippers kind of man, but without the pipe!'

Tracy White, manager of the Chester Halifax branch, said: 'Howard is a lovely, genuine, nice guy and he was also one of us.'

A frenzy of fans queued up to catch sight of Howard. Irene Piers said: 'I used to see him on the TV - I like his singing'

Deborah Smith added: 'I love the way he moves his body.'

Howard's ambition was always to be a bank manager but he left his branch three years ago to work in the Halifax marketing department.

He promotes the Search for a Star campaign, which encourages Halifax staff to be the new TV face of the bank.

Thomas Evans and Nathan Pearson, who work at the Chester branch, auditioned for the part.

Nathan said: 'I play the triangle very well. I was inspired by The Drifters. They wouldn't let me play the triangle in the audition, so I sang a song by REM.'