A Workington choir reduced anxious passengers to tears of joy at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on Sunday night.

Singing School travelled to Paris on Friday and were due to perform at a Disneyland Paris choral concert.

But terrorist attacks rocked the city and killed 129 people on Friday evening, leading to the closure of the amusement park. 

Choir leader Amy Pearce, 30, of Park End Road, Workington, said: "It was surreal. A couple we had flown out with were on the same flight back and asked if we would perform for them.

"But when I sat up and turned around the whole lounge was watching."

The choir, which rehearses at Workington's Helena Thompson Museum, sang As Long As There's Christmas in the departure lounge.

Their performance was met with a round of applause. 

The choir were in bed at their hotel at Disneyland when news of the massacre first broke.

Amy was faced with the task of keeping the younger children calm and deciding what to do next.

She added: "We had had a long day and we were all in bed because we'd been going since 4.30am on the Friday.

"It was about 11.15pm by the time I heard, but I did not know the extent until the following morning.

"I had to tell the children without frightening them. 

"I just had to keep focused and keep the kids as happy as we could.

"They were more devastated that they couldn't perform. 

"They're children so they didn't understand the full severity and we didn't want to frighten them."

Amy posted on the group's Facebook page to let anxious parents know that everyone was safe and was keeping them updated via text message.

The choir were due to fly back to the UK on Sunday night and decided to stay until then as the hotel had remained open.

The group kept occupied at the hotel and village by taking part in workshops.

Once they got there the sadness on their faces was replaced by smiles when they spotted Mickey and Minnie Mouse and burst into song.

Amy said: "It was nice that they got to perform something for somebody and we put their performances on Facebook.

"I'm delighted that they got to sing something and I'm delighted that the parents pulled together. Some of them had not met before."

And the choir will get to perform the songs they would have sung in Paris at the Helena Thompson Museum on Wednesday, December 2.

Despite the terrorist attacks, Amy wants to take the choir back to Paris.

She added: "It's like anything, if we stop doing what we're doing what you're doing is letting them win. 

"We have been invited to do the same thing again and all being well, we will go back and perform."

Meanwhile, a Maryport mum had an anxious wait for news of her daughter after the Paris terror attacks. Sylvie Jefferson’s daughter, Lauriane Harrington, is living and looking for work in the French capital after finishing her PhD in neurosciences.

Mrs Jefferson, of Selby Terrace, Maryport, is French and has lived in West Cumbria since she left Paris in 1985. She said: "The first I heard of the terror attacks was on Saturday morning when I switched on the radio.

"My immediate thought was for Lauriane. I was worried and shocked to say the least. I was dumbfounded about what had happened."

 Mrs Jefferson eventually spoke to former Cockermouth School pupil Lauriane, 27, who lives in the east of Paris, near an area called Pere Lachaise. 

Mrs Jefferson added: "She’s safe and so is her Belgian boyfriend. Lauriane was out on the other side of the river when it all happened."

  • A minute's silence was held at Allerdale council's meeting on Wednesday to remember those affected by terrorist attacks in Paris.