A theatre group for disabled people is hoping to pay tribute to a village's mining heritage.

Snug (Special Needs Unity Group) is based at Annfield Plain, near Stanley, and brings together handicapped and able-bodied actors.

The group has made two successful visits to the Edinburgh Festival and last year won rave reviews for its murder mystery musical Murder and Marmalade. Locally, its Christmas show, Christmas Treat, proved so popular that an extra date had to be added to the original run of six.

Its headquarters, a former sports pavilion now called The Venue, used to be the Morrison Busty Welfare Hall, named after the nearby Morrison Busty pit.

Because of the link, the group is planning to devote part of the building to a celebration of the village's mining past.

It is calling on former pitmen who remember life in Morrison Busty to help with the project. It hopes they will come forward and share their memories or photographs.

"We are keen to hear about working life in the mines, and we'd particularly like to hear from Bevan Boys and people who were left disabled," said a spokesman.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, at 6.30pm, in The Venue