A NEW amateur dramatics club in Malmesbury are hoping to steal the limelight when they to take their adaptation of the Vicar of Dibley to the stage.

Members of the Malmesbury Fringe Theatre have been hard at work learning their lines for the stage production and in March this year, theatregoers will be treated to the TV show's best bits all while raising much needed cash for the Malmesbury Abbey Roof fund.

"The Vicar of Dibley is one of my all-time favourite shows," Colonel Deb Poneskis, who helped create the group with friends after retiring from the Royal Military Police, said. "I have lived in Malmesbury for 18 months and it is a wonderful place to live but, hilariously, it is also the perfect place to stage this show - you can meet most of the characters in and around the pubs.

"We have received a huge amount of support from the local community and lots of folk have stepped out the woodwork to give this a go. The casting was incredible with far more people than we needed and some real talent."

Together with her 16-year-old daughter Lucy Elmes, who is directing the show, Colonel Poneskis and the group hope to support a variety of local good causes starting with the Abbey.

Tickets for the group's adaptation of The Vicar of Dibley, which will be performed at Malmesbury Town Hall from March 2-4, can be purchased for £7.50 on the door or from www.malmesburyfringetheatre.com.