A DALES visitors centre is asking people to draw what they imagine it would have been like to work in a lead mine.

The drawing event at Meet the Middletons, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, is part of The Big Draw 2005, which is a national series of events led by the Campaign for Drawing.

At Meet the Middletons, each visitor this month is being invited to add their own ideas of what it would have been like to work in a mine to a series of drawings.

Centre manager Grace Wallace said: "We are looking forward to seeing the results as it will be particularly interesting to see different people's perceptions of lead mining.

"We hope that the activity that will appeal to all ages and abilities; it's not our aim to create a masterpiece full of fantastic artwork, but instead to offer a fun opportunity to record visitors perceptions and opinions."

Once completed, the drawings will be on display in the centre, before being added to the permanent displays in the main exhibition area