A well-loved cinema has been "completely rammed" after it was able to reopen for the first time since December 31.

The Alhambra Cinema in Keswick welcomed back film-goers in style with the new James Bond film, No Time To Die, on Friday September 15.

On top of having a brand new second screen installed, the front of the 108-year-old building has been restored after months of work by contractors and a "volunteer army".

"It's been bonkers," said Alhambra Cinema co-owner, Jonathan Moore.

"In the first three days we had over 3,000 people through the doors. We had two private bookings , a film launch and our own private party.

"It's been non-stop and I'm absolutely exhausted."

Jonathan and co-owner, Carol Rennie had discussed installing a second screen prior to them having to close when Carlisle was moved to Tier 4 Covid-19 restrictions on December 31 2020.

Seeing an opportunity, the owners used the time that they would be closed to develop the building - using public donations to help fund the renovation of the building's front, and an investment from Jonathan helping to fund the new screen.

"It feels great to have it reopened," said Jonathan.

"[It has] taken us so long to build because it is technically really complicated to put a state of the art cinema in the middle of an Edwardian building."

He added that adding a second screen in the cinema "transforms the business".

"If you put a second screen in, you have got loads more flexibility and you can serve more films.

"We've got a new film starting every hour or so now."

The landscape of the film industry has changed somewhat in recent years with the emergence of streaming platforms, like Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime.

Far from putting them off, Jonathan said their cinema offers something unique that he thinks customers will keep coming back for more of.

"I don't think cinema is dead by any stretch of the imagination", said Jonathan.

"Even if cinemas suffer, we will be fine for a very long time because ten per cent of our customers are very loyal people in Keswick and 90 per cent are tourists.

"Every Friday, a whole new cinema audience walks into town looking for entertainment.

"The trend in the industry is towards streaming and home viewing, but it's not going to kill the industry and it is certainly not going to kill us."

For more information, visit the Alhambra Cinema website at https://www.keswickalhambra.co.uk/.