Somerset's first adult panto tour has raised thousands of pounds for local performing arts after a sell-out show earlier this year.

Glastonbury And Street Pottymouth Squad's (GASPS) hugely successful tour of Sinders in January has raised £7,000 for Glastonbury and Street Musical Comedy Society (GSMCS) making it the group's most successful fundraising event in its 93-year history.

The newly formed GASPS was set up last year to raise funds for the GSMCS after it lost the opportunity to perform its traditional annual family panto at Strode Theatre when the venue decided to take the show in-house.

And this week, GASPS confirmed it will be returning to Somerset next year with a new filthy adult panto, 'Snow *hite, Rotten to the Core'

Laura Vernoum, who produced Sinders alongside cast member Dean Wilson, said: "Sinders smashed through all our expectations. When we were planning it early last year, there was a lot of nervousness over whether we could sell the tickets, whether the people of Somerset wanted a filthy panto, and whether we could pull it off.

"But the success was phenomenal and way beyond what we expected. We sold out a month before the show, we had customers on ticket waiting lists, and we've had a whole stream of emails and messages begging us to return next year. How could we say no?

"We may not yet have decided on our venues or our dates, but we do know we will be back."

The success of GASPS' adult panto follows a decade of GSMCS family pantomimes at Strode Theatre, with the society boosting the theatre's coffers to the tune of more than £116,000, including more than £30,000 in donations.

The idea to launch GASPS came from members of GSMCS who realised that the possibility of staging a family panto in Street or Glastonbury was looking less likely, while also recognising they needed to think outside the box to raise funds for their annual musicals.

Mary Parker, Treasurer of GSMCS, which will use the donation to help fund its annual musicals, said: "We are thrilled the adult panto has been such a huge success and has raised so much for our society. Our previous largest fundraisers were our Peter Pan and Snow White family pantomimes which both generated £5,000, so Sinders has totally smashed that.

"We won't lie, we were a little nervous about how an adult panto would be received by Somerset audiences, but they clearly loved it and want more, so we're all looking forward to seeing what GASPS pulls out the bag next year."

While tickets are not yet on sale for next year's pantomime, which will be sponsored by the Mad Hatter Joke Shop in Yeovil, to avoid disappointment for customers if the show sells out again, excited fans can join a mailing list to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale by signing up on GASPS' website: www.gspottymouth.co.uk

There is also more information on the group's social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok: @GSPottyMouth.

 If you would like to help or support GASPS, or would like to sponsor the adult panto, make contact via its website: www.gspottymouth.co.uk