THEY made history by becoming the first UK country act to score a number one album and have been described as Taylor Swift meets Fleetwood Mac.

Now Ward Thomas, Hampshire born and bred twin sisters Lizzy and Catherine, have announced a date in the county included in a 22 night 2017 UK tour.

The duo will Portsmouth Pyramids on May 12.

The former convent schoolgirls are the unlikely bright new stars of country music – both in the UK and in Nashville.

The non-identical twin sisters, from a rural hamlet close to Liss, near Petersfield, won Album of the Year at the British Country Music Awards in 2014.

Catherine and Lizzy then made history with their stunning major label debut Cartwheels when it reached the top spot in the U.K. Album charts, by becoming the first ever UK country act to achieve the feat.

On top of that extraordinary achievement, the album, which was released in September, stayed in the top five for three weeks: a rare accomplishment.

Cartwheels, which spawned the hit single Guilty Flowers as well as the title track, was written two years ago, at a session in Nashville during the campaign for 2014’s From Where We Stand, the duo’s unexpectedly successful debut album, begun for fun while they were at school and released as an experiment on their own label.

After a debut EP caught the ears of some of country music’s biggest stars, among them 20 times Grammy Award winner Vince Gill, From Where We Stand was completed and recorded in Nashville, but remained distinctively British.

Cartwheels features 14 self-penned songs that capture a range of emotions, from joy to heartbreak and everywhere in between. Inspired by a childhood listening to their parents’ Fleetwood Mac and Beatles records and more recently Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves, it became an instant hit.

Hear all the favourite tracks from the album, plus new material, next spring.

Tickets for the date are on sale now from pyramids-live.co.uk