A town centre music and arts venue has thanked its supporters - which includes famous Bury band Elbow - after reaching its Christmas fundraising target.

The Met on Market Street has been raising money through the Big Give, a fundraising platform that runs campaigns for charities and special causes and matches the donations given by the public.

The venue has beat its target of £7,000 which it will spend on a number of aims including, helping artists affected by the pandemic and to support Bury’s night time economy.

Writing on Twitter, The Met said: “We are delighted to announce that we have raised £7,030 through our Big Give Campaign!

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“These funds will help us to continue our work across performance, education and outreach for the community of Bury and beyond A massive thank you to all who donated!

Supporters of The Met’s campaign included Greater Manchester night time cconomy advisor Sasha Lord, and indie rock band Elbow, which formed in Bury in 1997.

In a video posted to Twitter, the band urged residents to donate, saying the venue played a vital role in its success. It also praised the venue’s work in helping younger musicians hone their craft.

The band said: “We’re doing a little message in support of the big give which helps fund arts facilities like The Met in Bury where we played lots and lots of shows in our early days.

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“Mark [Potter, guitar] is patron of the arts centre and The Big Give’s an opportunity to supply them with money which will be doubled by the charity.

“Whatever is raised by this initiative will get doubled by The Big Give.

“There’s a studio that’s available there for bands, up and coming, as we we’re, young in Bury and trying to get ahead.

“And that’s what The Met is great at, helping young, up and coming musicians, helping them develop their sound, creating rehearsal spaces.”

Now it has reached its target, The Met will split the money equally between its aims to help them to "deliver brilliant projects designed to uplift, entertain & inspire our audiences".