Town transformed for movie role

Bombed-out buildings have been constructed at Redcar

The cameras are rolling on a new film which has transformed a North East town into wartime Dunkirk.

Redcar's esplanade is being used as a location in the £36m film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel Atonement, starring Oscar-nominated Keira Knightley.

A facade of bombed out buildings has been constructed to create the illusion of war-ravaged France in the 1940s.

Scores of extras, many dressed as soldiers, descended on the town on Monday for the start of filming.

Atonement, by Working Title Films, will span the 1930s and 40s and recall 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.

Filming in Redcar is expected to last about a week.

Redcar and Cleveland Council said it hoped the area's profile would be boosted.