Steelworkers are proving their voices are anything but rusty by taking part in an open-air opera.

The men, who work for Corus on Teesside, were invited to take part in the production by Middlesbrough-born soprano Suzannah Clarke.

And, despite all but two having never sung before, they accepted and have been rehearsing after 12-hour blast furnace shifts.

They will take to the stage next week as navvies in Blaze!, a community opera about Darlington's railway heritage, which is being performed on the station platform at the town's Railway Museum.

Ms Clarke said: "I'm hoping this will be the beginning of something wonderful - a chorus from Corus.

"I really take my hat off to these men. They've actually got very good voices."

Stephen Mitchell, 41, from Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, thought Ms Clarke was joking when she visited the steelworks to find recruits.

"None of us have ever sung before except for Boro songs," he said. "I'm not going to make a Pavarotti but I'm really enjoying myself."

Tickets for Blaze!, which runs from July 27 to 31, are priced from £2.50 to £7 and available on (01325) 486555.