Food bank appeal launched with rooftop Lincoln Cathedral performance

The singers were more than 100ft (30m) up on a balcony on the side of Lincoln Cathedral

An appeal to gather donations for a food bank was launched with a performance on a cathedral balcony.

The cast from a forthcoming production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame serenaded shoppers and tourists more than 100ft (30m) below Lincoln Cathedral.

The producers of the show hope audience members will donate food when they attend the musical.

A similar scheme in 2019 saw four tonnes of food contributed.

Amy Colley from the Lincoln Food Bank said her "heart just absolutely soared" when she heard the theatre company was repeating its appeal.

"We're so in need of food at the moment," she said.

"We've seen a rise in food bank usage, it's just come up so much. I didn't think it could be any more from Covid, but we are seeing really, really big figures.

"I think in the last three months we've given away 17 tonnes of food to local people in crisis."

Lincoln Theatre Company collected four tonnes of donations for the city's food bank during a previous performance

The show runs at Lincoln Cathedral from the end of May.

Ben Poole from Lincoln Theatre Company said the cast felt they wanted to repeat their appeal for food-bank donations.

"When we were thinking this time round what venture we might support there was so much in the news about the cost of living crisis why should we not do it again," he said.

"It's an opportunity as a collective to do something really positive when the play's going on as well."