AMATEUR actors at Blackburn Drama Club were forced to break down the door to their dressing room after the key went missing half an hour before curtain-up on Thursday night.

"There were 12 fellas running around the theatre panicking," said club secretary Eric Nolan.

"We made frantic phone calls to everybody at the theatre but nobody was home.

"It got to 7pm and with curtain-up at 7.30pm we had no option but to literally break down the door."

The club was on its second-night performance of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - the stage version of the film made famous by Jack Nicholson.

The actors kept themselves busy in the interval - by drilling a bracket back the door to keep it secure for the night.

The show is running until today at Thwaites Empire Theatre, Ewood, Blackburn. For tickets call 01254 680137.