Curtain falls on town's film role

Hundreds of extras descended on the town for filming

Filming is due to finish on a new movie which has transformed a North East town into wartime Dunkirk.

Redcar's promenade has been 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.

The promenade, closed for a week, is set to re-open on Sunday, said Redcar and Cleveland Council.

However, much of the scenery will stay in place until Wednesday, when work will begin to dismantle the film set.

Film scenery

Councillor Dave Fitzpatrick, cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: "I was absolutely fascinated to see how they've altered the buildings, camouflaged them and turned the area into a film set.

"The town has been packed all week and I'm sure we've seen an awful lot of investment come into the area. Now there's this marvellous chance to see close-up how much work has been done."

The road, from the Regent Cinema to the boating lake, has been out of bounds since filming began.

The Regent, which has been turned into a French bar for a fight scene involving 25 stuntmen, is to be given some of the scenery used in the film, due to hit screens in September 2007.