A touch of the West End is coming to Accrington thanks to a local singing coach - and he is asking for keen and enthusiastic singers to join him.

Anthony Clegg who lives in the local area and works with many of the West End’s best-known stars at the Sing Space, has now put out a call out for keen singers who love musical theatre and want the chance to work with a professional voice coach to join the choir.

Anthony joined the Sing Space Musical Theatre choir - run by West End coach, Rachel Lynes - himself during lockdown and loved it so much he wanted to bring the experience to the Greater Manchester area - reaching those who don’t usually have a chance to get this close to the West End.

Read more: The winners of BBC Radio Lancashire Make a Difference Awards

He said: “Singing is so good for mental health; we all benefit from singing and from the social aspect of singing together.

“People have told me singing is the best part of their week, and that it relieves stress.

“I know what joy singing can bring and I want to enable as many people as possible to experience that joy.

“The singers will learn to get the most from their voice.

“We will cover breathing, resonance, posture and range and we are looking for people who are really enthusiastic about musical theatre.”

Launch day will be on Monday January 16 at St Christopher's C Of E High School Academy, Queens Rd W, Church, at 7.30pm.

Read more: Owners of award-winning pub granted permission to turn B&B into boutique hotel

The choir will meet weekly for 90 minutes, with the chance to sing with West End Stars at one of London's largest venues to raise money for charity, as well as plenty of local performance opportunities.

The choirs will be singing hits ranging from popular musicals like Les Miserables, West Side Story, Wicked and Mamma Mia as well as discovering new material.

At the end of each 90-minute session, there will be some free time to take ‘showtune’ requests that people can sing together.

Anthony said: “We have chosen the venues that are large and well-ventilated, so we can keep people as safe as possible.

“Each session will also be live-streamed, so anyone who can’t make a session in person can still join in, from our private members group which will contain all music and lyrics.”

Read more: Blackburn mum shares Grinch costume fail that left kids ‘traumatised’

Anthony will also be opening the choir in Worsley and Middleton in January, in addition to ones already up and running since September in Bolton and Bury.

Numbers for the choir will be limited, to ensure distance can be retained as a Covid precaution.

The termly fees are £125.40 and are paid termly, working out at £10.45 for the 90-minute session.

Fees can also be paid in instalments to help spread the cost.

For more details about how to sign up for the choirs, visit https://thesingspacechoirs.newzenler.com/courses/accrington or you can email Anthony at anthonyc24601@hotmail.com