By Ben Jeffrey BBC News, West Midlands

About 50 tents have been set up at the NIA

Spending a fortnight camping in a Birmingham car park is not many people's idea of a good holiday.

But for a select band of die-hard Sir Cliff Richard fans, their yearly date with the hard concrete floor of Birmingham's National Indoor Arena (NIA) is one that simply cannot be missed.

They are waiting patiently in line until 6 June for the chance to buy the best seats to watch the veteran singer compete in his own annual celebrity tennis tournament.

About 50 tents have been set up by around 75 of Cliff's loyal group of followers, some of whom, like Pat Denton, from Southend-on-Sea, have been coming to the NIA to queue for tickets for several years.

'Bachelor boy'

Her dedication to Cliff, 64, is such that she joined the queue in 2004 just after being diagnosed with breast cancer, even though it meant delaying her treatment.

Another Cliff fan, Barbara Diaz, from Birmingham, has been queuing for tickets with her friend Ann McRory since 18 May.

So just what is it about the evergreen chart topper that inspires such devotion?

My family ask me why I'm going on holiday to a car park in Birmingham Val Thorne

Wendy Harrison, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, said: "He's just gorgeous. What you see with Cliff is what you get. He's such a genuine person.

"He's never tried to rock the boat in any way, although I think sometimes he'd like to. I can't imagine what life would be without Cliff, really."

One of the small number of men in the queue, Colin Sider, said: "He's kept as a bachelor boy and that's it.

"He looks after himself and keeps out of trouble. And his music's splendid."

But it is clear that, for all the Cliff posters, T-shirts and expressions of undying love, many people are at the NIA as much for the company and camaraderie as they are for the tennis tickets.

Colin Sider says the queue is like a holiday

Val Thorne, from Norwich, said she always enjoys coming back to see the friends she has met in previous years.

She added: "My family think I'm crazy. They ask me why I'm going on holiday to a car park in Birmingham."

But the gathering is tinged with sadness this time, as this is the last year that the tennis event is to be held.

However, there are already plans for some of the group to meet up in more comfortable surroundings - possibly a hotel - next year.

And so it would seem that Cliff's fans are almost as devoted to each other as they are to their clean-cut hero.

As Mr Sider explained, the attraction of the cold car park floor is a simple one: "It's a holiday for me. And I'll be honest - I cry my eyes out when I go home."