VILLAGERS are putting the finishing touches to a performance to celebrate the mining heritage of their community.

The Davey Lamp Players were formed earlier this year in Craghead, near Stanley, north Durham, its members tasked with writing and performing a piece about the culture and history of the village and surrounding area.

The six-strong group has been working with writer Stephen Yelverton and local musician and sound engineer Simon Bailey.

Mr Yelverton said: "The amount of work they have put in has been incredible. They produced an eighty-page script in just six weeks. We have been refining it and are now working on the visual side."

The project focuses on a tourist from 2485 who uses time-travel powers to visit Craghead during the Victorian era, the Second World War, the 1950s, the 1980s and the present day.

It features film footage of former local councillor Martin Quinn and children from Bloemfontein Primary School.

The project, funded by Craghead Area Partnership and the Return to Learn Centre in Stanley, aims to help unemployed people increase their chances of finding work.

Mr Yelverton said: "Developing key skills is an important aspect of this project.

"While the group has, obviously, developed their writing skills, the biggest change has been in their confidence. The change since the start of the project has been astonishing. They are brimming with it now."

The performance takes place in Craghead Village Hall on Friday, October 22, at 7pm. Tickets are £1.50, available at the door, or from the hall on (01207) 693200

Published: 11/10/2004