Richard BatsonWintry weather hit audiences at Cromer Pier's Christmas Seaside Special, where numbers were down 12pc on last year.Richard Batson

Wintry weather hit audiences at Cromer Pier's Christmas Seaside Special, where numbers were down 12pc on last year.

But the pier end venue kept going throughout the big freeze with a 'show must go on attitude' said its manager Ian Hall.

None of the shows was cancelled, despite some conditions that made things difficult for showgoers, including slippery town and seafront paths.

But Mr Hall said: 'We brought in extra staff and wheelchairs to help people down the pier. I was even pushing chairs up the slopes, and we made arrangements for coaches to get closer, near the Hotel de Paris.

'There is a tradition of 'the show must go on' in the theatre. It was a difficult decision because we did not want people turning out in bad weather, but we did not to disappoint people by cancelling.

Although some shows during the December run saw the 500-seater Pavilion Theatre nearly full, others were half empty, said Mr Hall, but he conceded that, after two mild winters, things could have been worse.

The theatre is now closed until March 5 when the new season opens with the touring rock and roll show That'll Be The Day. A brochure with the full programme is due out early in the New Year.