A MOBILE cinema tour is taking place across Teesside charting the history of mining in Eston.

A Century in Stone - The Eston and California Story, is a two-hour documentary about the Eston Ironstone Mine, which closed 54 years ago, and its miners.

Over the past few weeks, it has been taken to numerous village halls and clubs. Now, Craig Hornby, of Pancrack Pictures, is embarking on a wider venture.

He said: "This film grew from a six-week college project 16 years ago and it is a definitive document on Eston ironstone and the legacy it spawned, which was the true birth of Teesside.

"Long after Captain Cook had sailed, the discovery of Eston ironstone in 1850 sparked what was known as the great iron rush.

"People poured in to new iron mining settlements in the hills and new iron smelting towns along the river.

"The Cleveland Iron-making District, as it was known, was transformed from boggy marsh into the world's iron producing capital in less than 20 years.

"The great majority of people living in the area today will be able to trace their roots back to iron miners or iron workers.

"This film is essentially a working-class history relevant to people from Stockton through to Staithes. It is history in the making twice over because the story has never really been told on film before, and neither has a local film been extensively toured in this way in the whole area."

The film features dramatisation, virtual reality, rare archive film and interviews with the last of the miners.

It was supported initially by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Northern Arts and Teesside University, and in 2002, Mr Hornby became the first artist in the North-East to win a David Puttnam-Nesta fellowship award.

The £75,000 accolade allowed him to complete his venture. He said: "I wanted to make something of epic scale, something to make a big impact and help put us on the map. It is great to finally get it shown and the response has been fantastic."

The film will be shown on Wednesday, at Timms, Skinningrove, at 7.30pm; on Thursday, at Stokesley Town Hall, at 7pm; next Monday, at Trade Union Centre, Marton Road, Middlesbrough, at 7.30pm; on Tuesday, April 20, at New Marske Club, New Marske, at 7pm; on Wednesday, April 21, at Lingdale Club, Lingdale, at 7.30pm; on Thursday, April 22, at Loftus Club, Loftus, at 7.30pm; on Monday, April 26, at Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough, at 7.30pm; on Tuesday, April 27, at North Skelton Club, North Skelton, at 7.30pm; and on Wednesday, April 28, at Eston Institute, Eston, at 7.30pm.

Admission to each venue is £2.50 at the door. However, Stokesley is £3.50 and tickets for that show need to be reserved on (01642) 710270.