AN amateur dramatics group which was facing rehearsing in hard hats due to a leaking roof has won £44,000 for repair work.

The Summerseat Players received the grant to carry out work at the Theatre Royal, in Smithy Street, Ramsbottom.

The group successfully applied to Viridor Credits Environmental Company for the cash after a leak was discovered in the roof of the auditorium.

Viridor Waste Management, which has a landfill site at Pilsworth, near Bury, provides funding through the Landfill Communities Fund for community projects within a 10 mile radius of its sites.

Summerseat Players chairman Geoff Sword said the work was vital to prevent long lasting damage to seating and the stage.

He said: “Preparing the damaged roof was also a marvellous opportunity to insulate since only a layer of felt was in place between the audience and the roof.

“The theatre has been much busier of late now that we have opened it up to the community and our heating costs were literally going through the roof.

"This work will keep us all warm and dry for next 30 or 40 years and reduce our bills dramatically.”

The group will now be holding a series of fundraising events including a jazz evening in the new lounge bar on September 4 to raise the extra £5,000 to complete the work.

The repairs expected to take six weeks are now underway and should be completed by September 17, when the players new production Dick Barton Special Agent will open.

Recently the volunteers-run theatre underwent a £400,000 refurbishment, which included a new rehearsal studio, a coffee lounge and bar.