'GIVE Us A Complex' said the people of Andover after more than 1,000 callers bombarded the Andover Advertiser's voteline this week.

The phone line was set up after Test Valley Borough Council's corporate director Claire Chidley said the council needed to know what arts and leisure facilities the people of Andover wanted.

The opinion poll revealed that 822 people wanted a leisure complex.

Some 83 people voted for just a theatre, 144 voted for just a cinema and 27 voted for just a concert hall.

Editor of the Andover Advertiser Joe Scicluna said: "The tremendous response to our phone poll highlights the community's strength of feeling over the lack of adequate leisure facilities.

"While the town has seen continued expansion, leisure and recreational venues have withered.

"The response to this poll shows that people feel it is time to take stock, grasp the nettle and go forward to provide the range of facilities a town of this size deserves."

With these results in mind Claire Chidley said: "The Andover Advertiser's poll underlines the value the community places on cultural facilities for the town. I am impressed that so many people have taken the time to respond.

"Over the coming weeks the practical and financial implications of a number of options concerning the theatre will need to be carefully assessed and I will be working with the college to help develop some clear proposals.

"I know everyone is keen to know what is going to happen next and I hope it will be possible to give an outline of possible solutions in the near future."