THERE were smiles all round yesterday as an historic Abertillery landmark celebrated its first birthday since a major revamp.

It is one year since the Metropole Cultural and Conference centre reopened it's doors to the public after undergoing a £1.5 million revamp, supported by Heads of the Valleys, National Assembly and Arts Council funding.

Staff at the centre pulled out all the stops to throw the centre a birthday bash.

Over a hundred school children went to the centre to watch Punch and Judy shows and a magician.

They also took part in a balloon race and activities including weaving.

Met manager, Suzanne Allen, said: "It's been a brilliant day.

"The children had a lot of fun.

"We've had a lot of visitors popping in as well, which means a lot to us because we are a very community-based centre."

She added: "It was important to us to celebrate the centre's birthday because we wanted to thank the community, residents and schools for supporting us in our first year.

"It has gone extremely well. I'm very pleased with the visitor numbers and the comments we have been getting.

"I hope we can continue to build on this success in the future."