ABERDOUR Youth Theatre showed they were a class act by winning a top national competition for the second year on the trot.

The group took the honours at Scottish Community Drama Association’s One-Act Play Festival with their performance of Mark Wheeller’s ‘Hard to Swallow’.

The play is an adaptation of Maureen Dunbar’s award-winning book and film ‘Catherine’, which charts her daughter’s battle with her anorexia and the family’s difficulties in coping with the illness.

It was the latest gong for the group, which scooped a slew of awards en route to the final.

They won the Fife District finals in February, where they also scooped best moment in theatre, highest marks in production and best ensemble playing, as well as the Divisional youth final in March, where they again took the best moment in theatre.

Director Natalie Hardie said, “We won the Scottish final last year for the first time with our production of ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ adapted by Jonathan Josephson.

“We are over the moon to have won for a second year running, and incredibly proud of the huge achievement of getting as far as we did in the open competition as well as the youth competition.” The group comprises actors Emer Appleton, Robyn Davies, Calum Pearce, Jess Wilson-Leigh, Lewis Ross, Matt Sangster, Laura Brodie, Kyle Doran, Eilidh Pearce and Kirsty Duncan.