EAGER performers who have raised more than £250,000 for hundreds of Worcestershire charities are gearing up to perform their 39th pantomime.

The Monday Night Group is staging Sinbad, The Pantomime, from Friday, January 21 until Saturday, January 29, and group secretary, Cathy Carrier, has invited any Wyre Forest organisations interested in receiving a cut of the money raised to come forward.

Mrs Carrier - who is playing the front half of a camel and an Egyptian twin in the latest show - said last year's production of Humpty Dumpty raised £16,000 and she hoped to beat that figure.

She explained the show followed the adventurous journey of Sinbad as he set about achieving tasks set for him and was fun for all the family.

"Good triumphs over evil at the end of the day, so it's a lovely story," she said.

"There's a lot in it that children will appreciate - and adults - and we usually have a very big age range in our audiences. It's suitable for all the family, from little three-year-old Johnny to granny."

She added the venue, Stourport Civic Centre, could hold around 420 people and the group was hoping to sell as many tickets as possible for the 12 performances.

"We've got a rota of around eight or nine pantomimes and the last time we did Sinbad was about nine years ago so it was its turn," she went on.

"Next year we want to do something a bit special for our 40th pantomime so we'll probably do Cinderella and we thought this contrasted quite nicely.

"Sinbad's nice because it is eastern and the costumes are very colourful."

Mrs Carrier said the organisation, which has given away £250,000 since it achieved charitable status in 1981, supported all sorts of charities, including those catering for people with special needs, senior citizens and children.

The proceeds of last year's production were distributed to 98 groups, including Stourport Pop-In-Club, Wyre Forest Stroke Club and Abberley Toddlers Group.

Anyone interested in applying for future funding should contact Mrs Carrier on 01905 617326.

Tickets for the shows, which start at 11am, 3pm and 7.15pm depending on the day, can be obtained by calling the box office, after 6pm, on 01299 825170.