A NEW version of a literary classic is being filmed in a North Yorkshire market town.

Filming on the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is under way in Selby, made by local production team, Runestone Pictures.

Runestone was started just over a year ago by Diana Brooks, from Brayton, with Christopher Harmon and Gareth Brook - who have all worked in the television, film and theatre industries, and wanted to try their hands at production.

Diana, 59, said their productions were paid for entirely through fundraising, but all expense went on the professional actors used, with crew volunteering their time and providing their equipment to take part.

She said: “We thought ‘you know what, we want to make something ourselves and make it in Yorkshire’, and since we’ve been together we’ve made two television pilots.”

The pilots which have already been completed include Luvvies - a sitcom based around the theatre - and Vampyr - a supernatural drama based in York.

Diana said: “A Christmas Carol is an all-time favourite and we’ve got some fantastic buildings in York and Selby so we thought why not film our version here? We’ve written the script, but we’re sticking very closely to Dickens, and it’s all period.

“We’re quite excited about it, and the actors and crew are all amazing. I’m really happy because I’m directing it too, and it’s going really well.”

The team aim to be finished, edited and ready to sell by July, and the production has so far filmed in Ousegate and around Selby Abbey, with interiors filmed on sets built in The Venue in Selby.

Each production has cost about £10,000, and Diana said A Christmas Carol would be followed by their own version of Robin Hood.

The next fundraising event the team will be hosting will be a jumble sale and stalls at The Riverside bar in Ousegate on Saturday, April 8, between 10am and 2pm.