THE treacle miners of Sabden are going to Cannes in the hope of bringing a bumper tourism boost to East Lancashire.

If all goes well, the cuddly creatures could bring thousands of visitors flocking to the Ribble Valley.

And they could spawn a massive spin-off industry, with a possible Treacle Miners theme park and a children's television production company.

The crazy characters, created by Sabden man Bill Dewhurst and his family, will appear in their own national television series from Friday, May 3.

Already the series is being marketed to other countries at a television trade show in Cannes - home of the famous Cannes Film Festival - this month.

And a national merchandising operation is also running to go along with the new television series.

The success of the Treacle Miners has staggered the Dewhurst family who are poised to make a fortune if the series is a success.

The new 13-part animated series The Treacle People follows the antics of the Sabden inhabitants from dippy hippies Rosie and Wizzle to plain-speaking Leyland Lil and the mischievous Boggart creatures.

The series has been devised by the Dewhurst family and scripted by the man behind the hugely-successful Dangermouse children's series, Brian Trueman. Mr Dewhurst, a 56-year-old former electronics engineer, started making the dolls 11 years ago when he was made redundant.

Since then his wife Barbara-Ann, daughters Christine and Helen and son Philip have become equal partners in the business.

At first, the family sold the dolls at markets and craft fairs but they were so successful they decided to set up their own Treacle Mines village.

The Dewhursts have now developed the creatures from the original miners to include a whole new cast of characters, the Treacle People.

A delighted Mr Dewhurst predicted that the series would put the Ribble Valley firmly on the map.

"Tourism in Lancashire will receive a phenomenal boost, " he said.

"The site in Sabden is quite tiny and if it develops in the way we expect we will need to either expand there or find a site that will accommodate what is required.

"We will have to suck it and see, but we think it's going to be quite a prominent feature of tourism in Lancashire in years to come."

And Mr Dewhurst is planning a new partnership to form a production company making more animated children's programmes in the area.

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