Potter studio walkout averted

Harry Potter is being filmed at Leavesden

A walkout by backstage staff at three of the UK's main film studios has been averted.

As the deadline for talks loomed a deal was struck between Warner Brothers and the Bectu union offering better working conditions.

Freelance workers including carpenters, painters, plasters and riggers were due to walk out on Friday after handing in their notice to end their contracts.

The move could have affected production of three major movies - including the next Harry Potter film - being shot at Shepperton, Pinewood and Leavesden studios.

Staff were seeking a pay increase on the standard freelance contract which earns them £800 before tax for a 50-hour week.

The new agreement sees a reduction of hours to 45 a week on the same pay.

Warner Brothers has also committed itself to holding annual talks with the union about pay and conditions.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is being shot mainly at Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire - and also partly at Shepperton Studios, west London.

Filming on Trojan War movie Troy - starring Brad Pitt - at Shepperton also faced being halted.

The dispute also involved staff working on a film version of the puppet show Thunderbirds at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire.

Although a final settlement has yet to be reached for workers on the Thunderbirds, there has been an agreement to continue talks.

Bectu said all freelance workers will be back at the studios and production will carry on as normal.

The union said the dispute had been building for four years as freelance staff involved had little job security and are undervalued by film production companies.