CHILDREN from a Loftus school were chauffeur-driven in limousines on Monday to the premier of a film in which they played all the leading roles.

Twenty youngsters from Hummersea Primary School in Loftus were taken to Loftus Town Hall to see the The Accident, a black and white silent film about a mining accident, which they also helped to produce and direct.

The pupils, aged between seven and 11, became involved with the film after a school outing to the Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum. The museum had been given a £5,000 grant to make a film about the lives of ironstone minors in the early Twenties.

The museum, formerly known as the Tom Leonard Museum, in Skinningrove, near Loftus, decided to get the children involved in making the ten-minute film about an accident in a mine.

Headteacher Sue Thompson said: "It's been a super experience for the pupils which they would otherwise never have had. The children scripted the film, did a lot of the research and even had a go at producing and directing.

"They've had a wonderful time. They've really been learning about their own heritage."

The film was shown for the first time this week along with a 30-minute film about the making of The Accident, which showed the all-child cast working with producer, Ben Moore and his team.

The film will be put on to video and will be made available to schools and libraries for educational purposes.