Hollywood film to close promenade

Keira Knightley is set to star in the wartime film

One of the North East's most popular promenades is to close for two weeks for the filming of a Hollywood movie.

Redcar's vintage promenade - Newcomen Terrace - is being used as a location in the £36m film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel Atonement.

The stretch of promenade, from the town's Regent cinema to the boating lake, will be off limits while it is transformed into wartime Dunkirk.

It will be closed from Saturday 12 August to Sunday 27 August.

Redcar and Cleveland Council said it hoped the blockbuster, by Working Title Films, would boost the area's profile.

Emotional tale

Diversion signs around the closure are already in place on Majuba Road, Lobster Road, Coatham Road, Millbank Terrace, West Dyke Road, Lord Street, Redcar Lane, Granville Terrace, High Street East and Wilton Street.

Extra parking will also be available on Kirkleatham Street and will be signed from Majuba Road car park.

Atonement, starring Oscar-nominated Keira Knightley, is an emotional tale that spans the 1930s and 40s and recalls the horrors of World War II.

The story focuses in part on a 13-year-old girl and her Cambridge-graduate older sister Cecilia - to be played by Knightley, who won acclaim for her role in Pride and Prejudice.

It will also feature James McAvoy - the star of the television series Shameless.