GLUSBURN-BORN Simon Beaufoy, who wrote the smash-hit film The Full Monty, has released his latest production.

The Darkest Light, was shot in Ingleton and Horton-in-Ribblesdale and a number of Dales folk appear in the film as extras.

It focuses on the lives of two young children who live on a farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Catherine is a fearless 11-year-old while her younger brother, Matthew, suffers from leukaemia.

It stars Stephen Dillane, who appeared in Welcome to Sarajevo and Kerry Fox, star of Fanny and Elvis.

The film also features a number of local people including Sophie Jewitt, 14, who plays one of Catherine's friends, and one of her scenes was filmed at Horton-in-Ribblesdale School.

She said: "I went to an audition as an extra and the casting director pulled me out, took my photo and got me to do some improvisation. Then I got a letter back asking me to take a small speaking part."

Her brother Mark also worked on the film behind the scenes as a production runner.

"I did everything from driving the director around to handing out timetables for the day. There were long, 12 hour days every day and then we switched to night shoots also doing 12 hours."

Other local people included Dave Hadwen, of Bentham, who hired out the cars and military Land Rovers used in the film.

The film was written and directed by Simon, with Bille Eltringham, who also has relatives in Craven. It shows the romantic beauty of the landscape alongside the poor crops and low-flying jets that scatter the livestock.

Simon said: "It was a very barren feel with these huge stretches of limestone pavements and only the odd wind-blown tree surviving.

"The countryside is full of the influence of the modern world - wind farms, military firing ranges, low-flying jets, drums of chemicals, dead animals - we wanted to reflect that."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.