A CLASSIC Ealing comedy will be screened at a charity event in the Lake District on Wednesday October 19.

Mountaineering icon Sir Chris Bonington will also be on hand to cut the ribbon as Bowness' Royalty Cinema unveils a new lift for its Wurlitzer organ.

The evening of entertainment, centred around a screening of the 1953 film The Titfield Thunderbolt, will raise money for the charity The Association for the Independence of Disabled People.

In recent months the famous Wurlitzer organ console at the cinema has been put on a lift enabling it to rise up from the orchestra pit and up to stage height during performances. This has been masterminded by retired local businessman Paul Adorian, of Windermere.

The new lift will be officially opened on the night, with Sir Chris cutting the ribbon in the film's interval.

The Titfield Thunderbolt, starring Stanley Holloway and George Ralph, tells the story of a group of villagers trying to keep their branch line operating after British Railways decided to close it.

It was the first Ealing comedy shot in Technicolor and one of the first colour comedies made in the UK.

Tickets for the gala presentation are £15 and can be obtained from the Royalty box office, with all proceeds going to the charity.