Melksham's Market Place ground to a halt this morning, as comedy fans queued round the block to get their hands on the town's hottest ticket.

Top stand-up comic Lee Evans announced on Friday night he would be appearing for a one-off show at the Assembly Hall next month, as he prepares for his latest international arena tour.

The lure of the frantic comedian, who has also acted in Hollywood films MouseHunt and There's Something About Mary, as well as appearing in Doctor Who, was clearly too much for the town's comedy fans, who queued round the block when tickets went on sale at the Town Hall this morning.

Their eagerness was well-deserved, with all of the £25 tickets selling out within 75 minutes of being released at 9am.

Assembly Hall Operations Manager Lorna Howard said: "We’re thrilled to be able to welcome Lee to Melksham.

“This is a fabulous opportunity to see one of the UK’s biggest comedy names here in our town and it illustrates, once again, that we have a venue and audience with a growing reputation for hosting top class comedy.”

The show will take place on April 9 as Lee prepares for his latest Monsters show in August, which will see him tour the UK and Ireland in a massive tour including six straight dates at London’s O2 Arena.