FINISHING touches were being put to the latest upgrades at Darlington's only cinema last night, in time for this morning's first screenings of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

After the £117,500 refurbishment of the ABC in Northgate last year, turning the three-screen cinema into an Odeon, a further £25,000 has been spent on the installation of Dolby digital sound in Screen One.

The 571-seat main screen was the subject of internal alterations under last year's renovation work, with new seating, while there were also external changes to the look of the building.

For the first time, the cinema has been able to offer disabled toilets to visitors since the facelift, while new carpets and decorations were also installed.

The cinema was unable to join other theatres across the country in showing 12.01am screenings of the new Star Wars film this morning because of licensing problems, but will start showing the film at 10.20am.