THE appeal of watching movies on the big screen is not diminishing in Northallerton.

The town's cinema may have disappeared many years ago, but audiences for the town's monthly film nights are growing.

Last week, 60 people turned out to see the two films on show - the big-screen versions of The Magic Roundabout and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The town's Hambleton Forum has become the venue for the monthly events thanks to the Northallerton Rotary Club.

The club is working to bring cinema screenings to local people who cannot get to the larger multi-screen outlets in places such as York and Middlesbrough.

Hambleton arts development officer Kate Staines said: "It is great to see our numbers gradually picking up for these screenings.

"As with all this type of work, we are trying to bring arts and culture to people at a local level.

"We hope that once they get used to going to the cinema in Northallerton, they will make it a regular Friday night occasion.

"It is a long time since there was a movie house in the town, but judging by the numbers, the Forum is proving to be a suitable alternative."

The next screenings are on March 3 -when Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit will be at 5.30pm and Million Dollar Baby will be at 7.30pm. Admission is £3 per film.