A CHORLEY society is singing with delight after the council came to its rescue -- and helped stage a winning performance.

Chorley Choral Society now have a new lightweight stage on which to stage their shows after securing both council and lottery funding.

The cash came form Chorley Borough Council's community development fund and the Awards for All Lottery Scheme.

And not only is it good news for choral society members' vocal chords, but also their backs -- as they struggled to put their old heavyweight staging into place.

Now the society is hoping to raise additional cash by hiring out the easy-to-manoeuvre stage to other local groups.

Gerry Caesar Chorley Choral chairman, said: "Thanks to the council's grant and the assistance we received from them in our Awards for All application, we have been able to replace our old heavy box staging.

"It was showing signs of wear and tear, as were some of our members with all that lifting, so we can't wait for our next performance which will be November 9 at Chorley Town Hall, to put the new staging in place."