AFTER the Second World War the Skipton Drama Festival was a major event in the town. Along came television and the drama festival slowly withered and disappeared.

The banner of amateur dramatics was held high by various groups - the Little Theatre, Sutton Players, Embsay Players - but there was little for younger folk.

All that changed when the Little Sods were formed.

Aimed at nurturing acting talent in children aged between eight and 16, the group stages its third production, The Little Shop of Horrors, at Skipton Town Hall in March and around 40 youngsters are involved.

Following the success of Bugsy Malone and their Dracula Spectacular, their latest venture features South Craven students Seb Pietrovito as Seymour and Kara Bayer as Audrey.

The comedy musical tells the story of an unusual plant which Seymour cultivates in his shop - only to find it has a taste for human flesh.

Helping out the youngsters are founders Alan and Jeannette Wilcock and John and Caroline Dewhurst.

"We met through amateur theatre and we got talking about youngsters," said Mr Wilcock. "There is a distinct lack of younger people going to amateur theatricals and it does have a bit of bad press, unfairly. It gives kids a definite thing to do.

"It's easy to drive past in a car and say look at those kids hanging around street corners, but what else is there for them to do?"

With support from backers such as Skipton Building Society and Homeloan Management, the Little Sods have set their sights high and present a highly accomplished performance.

Little Sods production of Little Shop of Horrors can be seen at the Town Hall from March 5 to 8 (with a matinee on March 8). Tickets can be obtained from John Phillip shop on Newmarket Street.