MEET the newest character in an amateur dramatic group's pantomime - Widow Twanky on wheels!

MEET the newest character in an amateur dramatic group's pantomime - Widow Twanky on wheels!

When actor Ben Warner broke his ankle slipping on black ice, it was too late to find a substitute to play the dame, and the show just had to go on.

Snow and ice had caused havoc with preparations for Hadleigh Amatuer Dramatic Scoiety's (HADS) February pantomime.

But the real disaster was yet to strike, as Mr Warner, 23, of Hadleigh, lost his footing on some black ice as he braved the journey to work in the treacherous conditions.

He was taken to Ipswich Hospital in an ambulance, where surgeons inserted screws into his ankle and performed surgery to repair a ligature rupture, a dislocation and a fracture of his fibula.

With only a few weeks to go until he was meant to take to the stage, it was too late to recast Widow Twanky and it looked almost certain the curtains would fall on the pantomime.

But then Mr Warner added his own drama to the performance, amazingly turning up at the rehearsal on crutches just 24 hours after the accident, and declaring the show must go on.

Peter Finch, the vice chairman of HADS, who plays villain Abanazar in the production, said: “It was a fantastic moment.

“We all went to rehearsals 24 hours after he had the accident and we were all standing around not knowing what was going to happen.And then the doors burst open and in came Ben on crutches saying 'I am going to do it'.

The HADS production of Aladdin incorporates modern material, such as parodies of hit reality television contest the X Factor.

Performances will take place in the Town Hall in Hadleigh from Wednesday, February 18 to Saturday, February 21.

Tickets are available from the High Street in Hadleigh at the Idler bookshop and the reception desk of Walter Wright Accountants.