PANTO superfan Sharon Smith has bought no fewer than 46 tickets for York Theatre Royal's next Christmas extravaganza - after queuing for more than 18 hours.

Sharon, 53, from Middleton-on-the-Wolds near Driffield, spent £1,000 this morning to ensure her huge entourage of family and friends can get to see a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk together next January.

She said:"I have been here since twenty past two yesterday and I've got 46 tickets for family and friends.

"The youngest is three and the oldest is 74 - my mum, Rose Deeth."

Asked if she felt tired after her marathon queue, she said: " I think the adrenaline has taken over. I have bought my tickets and I am just so excited I was first in the queue."

Panto Dame Berwick Kaler, who was joined in greeting fans by other stars such as Suzy Cooper and villain David Leonard, said Sharon's long wait to buy so many tickets was 'amazing.'

He said she and fellow fans were "a bit off the wall- a bit like the pantomime!"

Sharon led a long queue of panto enthusiasts which snaked along St Leonard's Place before the tickets went on sale at 9am. Second in the queue was Rita Wells from Boroughbrudge, who was buying 20 tickets for family and friends for shows in January.

"I arrived at about 4 o clock (yesterday afternoon) - a little bit behind Sharon," she said.

The pair avoided getting chilled by the freezing temperatures, as the theatre made arrangements for them to stay overnight in the nearby De Grey Rooms before queuing in the street from 8 am.

Berwick, the UK's longest serving panto dame, said Jack and the Beanstalk was one of his all-time favourites.

"This will be the sixth time I've done it in my 39 year reign but I'm sure it will be the ultimate," he said.

Damian Cruden, artistic director at the theatre, said: “The pantomime launch is one of the things that makes directing here at York Theatre Royal a real privilege – it’s great to see people returning year after year."

He said audiences could once again look forward to a 'stunning spectacle.'

The panto will open on Thursday December 14 and run until Saturday February 3. Tickets can be bought online from 6pm tonight and by telephone from 9am tomorrow.