FANS of The Carpenters who turned out for a tribute show at Darlington Civic Theatre got more music than they bargained for when radio microphones started picking up signals from a karaoke night being held in the nearby Greyhound Pub.

Chris McIntyre of the Civic Theatre explained that the problem came about because the production company were using their own microphones - which were tuned to the same frequency as the pub's. 'The group took it as good sports and made jokes about it and the audience thought it was hysterical,' she said.

'But it's not the sort of thing that can normally happen. The theatre has been going since 1907 and this is the first time it has happened.'