Organisers of the 'Come and sing The Messiah ' taking place at Christ Church, Frome, on Saturday, March 3, have been inundated with singers.

They are so delighted by the positive response the project has received they are closing registration for new female voices a month early.

More than 100 people have signed up to take part in the community event. There will four professional soloists joining the choir, all offering their time at no charge. There will also be a small strings section in addition to the church organ.

One of the organisers, Olivia Date, said: "We wanted to be able to share the joy of singing with as many people as possible, especially in these rather gloomy times, but we hadn't anticipated quite how much this would strike a chord with local people. And we do want to have space for an audience.

"This is why we have had to take the decision to close registration for sopranos and altos, though we are still very interested in having more tenors or bases join us."

The Frome Messiah takes place at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10 on the door and profits go to Jackdaws Music Education Trust.