THE latest Theatre Royal Winchester pantomime set a new box office record with sales exceeding a quarter of a million pounds for the first time.

Jack And The Beanstalk sold 16,757 tickets at a total value of £265,000.

‘We have used the same creative team of writer/director James Barry and composer Simon Slater for a number of years and built up an excellent reputation for providing a high quality traditional pantomime,’ said Theatre Royal Chief Executive Mark Courtice. ‘The reaction to this year’s production was the best yet.’

Tickets are already on sale for Theatre Royal's next panto Cinderella which opens on 6 December.

Among the audience for the record-breaking panto were Winchester MP Steve Brine and his family and the winner of his annual Christmas Card competition, 8 year old Gabrielle Panayides.