A GROUP of pensioners is learning to play the clarinet.

They meet at the home of professional musician Graham Lyons, in Kirbymoorside, each Thursday playing instruments Mr Lyons has designed.

For Mary Rowlands, 81 and Marian Tierney, 64, it is the first time they have played an instrument since learning the piano as children, while Richard Hebblethwaite, 62, and Harry Davis, 63 are musical newcomers.

Mr Lyons taught in Ryedale schools following a successful career playing in orchestras in West End musicals.

He plays the flute, saxophone, bassoon and piano, and designed plastic clarinets for children, which are a fraction of the price of a conventional instrument.

He said: "It is also a third of the weight of a traditional clarinet which makes it easier for children and older people to handle."