YOungsters from Malvern and Ledbury are treading the boards with Ron Moody, star of the hit musical Oliver!

They are taking a daily bow in the pantomime Peter Pan at Malvern Theatres, which runs until January 8.

The line-up of 'Lost Boys' are pupils of the Stagecoach Theatre Arts group, which meets regularly at John Masefield High School in Ledbury and Dyson Perrins School High School in Malvern.

Sally Lomax, of Stagecoach, said: "They have worked so hard, as have their parents, getting them to every rehearsal.

"The boys are delighted to be working with such a celebrity as Ron Moody."

Mr Moody, who was Fagin in Oliver!, plays Captain Hook in the panto. The cast also features Gemma Lowy-Hamilton as Peter Pan and Kasia Haddad, better known to thousands of children as Josie Jump from the TV series Balamory.

The local boys in the spotlight include Henry Cosh (Ledbury Primary School), Tony Foster (John Masefield High School), Peter Foster (John Masefield High School), Harri Nurser Claxton (Northleigh Primary School), Neil Powell (Dyson Perrins School), Oscar Boyle (Malvern Wells Primary School), PJ Bennett (Cradley Primary School) and Jack Lupton of the Malvern Players.

Others are Zach Worrell (Goodrich Primary School), Cosmo Ranger (Clifford Primary School), Jake Sparrow (Wigmore School), Louis Newton (Pate's Grammar School, Cheltenham), Adam Moran (John Kyrle School, Ross-on-Wye), Fabian Hicks (Somers Park Primary School), Chris Kear (Bare Bones Theatre Company) and Johnny Buck (John Kyrle School).