A MAJOR £100,000 grant has helped secure the future of a unique East Cornwall arts centre.

SITA Cornwall Trust's grant means a project to replace the all-weather canopy for the 400-seater amphitheatre at Upton Cross can be replaced.

The canopy is being custom built in Germany and will be installed in time for the 2014 summer season which starts on May 24.

Sterts has been entertaining audiences for more than 24 years with its mix of home-produced shows and visiting stars. In 2013 more than 15,000 people watched more than 250 performers in 40 different productions.

Sterts' chairperson Glenda Ellis said: 'We are extremely grateful to SITA Cornwall Trust for helping to ensure the survival of this volunteer-run arts centre.

'In these challenging times for the arts, such vision for the future and such regard for the richness the arts can bring to the lives of us all, is a wonderful thing.'

l Watch out next week for a feature on Sterts Theatre.