A STUDENT cut short the holiday of a lifetime to enter a competition to see Madonna in concert.

And today, Robert Thoday, aged 18, was celebrating winning a pair of tickets to see the superstar in London tomorrow.

Robert has been a Madonna fan for as long as he can remember.

So when he heard she would be performing in an exclusive concert at the Brixton Academy -- her first British gig for seven years -- he knew he had to come home from Switzerland early.

Robert has been enjoying a year out before going on to do a theatre studies course at university.

Only three thousand tickets are available for the concert and cannot be bought.

Robert came home to Yellow Lodge Drive, Westhoughton, and entered the competition on the official Madonna web site for fan club members to win tickets.

Last week, Robert was e-mailed with the news he had won. He will be taking friend Catherine Longworth.

Robert said: "I won't believe it until I have got the tickets in my hand."