EAST Lancashire and especially the Blackburn area has long suffered from a shortage of buildings where an audience of a few hundred can watch music or theatrical shows in a proper auditorium.

More than 20 years ago a small band of amateur theatre enthusiasts decided something had to be done about this and bought the derelict former Empire Theatre at Ewood, Blackburn - a decaying hulk of a building.

The task that faced them was enormous.

They had to win over hearts and minds to a cause which was never going to top most people's wish lists.

The arts have never been a priority in the minds of politicians when they are so many other demands on the public purse - many of them far bigger vote winners like combating crime, building better schools and improving sports facilities.

On top of that they had to act fast to stop an already decayed building being reduced to rubble by vandals and vermin.

They did and on Saturday night the Thwaites Theatre was officially opened - a 200 seater theatre which will play host to clubs and societies throughout the borough and take touring productions.

More than £450,000 has been raised to transform the place thanks to years of local fund raising, some public cash and the help of community-minded companies like the brewery after which it is named.

A team of volunteers has also laboured long and hard to keep improvements going as the interior was transformed from a dirty, dark, damp area filled with rubble to a cosy, modern auditorium.

Various East Lancashire dignitaries celebrated this success at the weekend and spoke of their hopes for the future of the Thwaites Theatre which must now establish a reputation as THE place to go for an entertaining evening.

But the real heroes as the dedicated team who worked so hard for so long to turn their dream into reality.