British actor Andy Serkis has raised more than US $351,000 for charity by reading The Hobbit in full on a live stream.

More than 650,000 people worldwide tuned in for the online performance of JRR Tolkien's 1937 fantasy adventure.

Serkis, played the corrupted character Gollum in the big-budget film trilogies Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit, directed by Peter Jackson.

Viewers followed via YouTube and his Go Fund Me page.