It's not only the camera that rolls when film makers shout: Lights, Camera, Action! Cash - millions of pounds of it - also rolls into the pockets of local communities when the movie business comes to town.

In the past four years, the film industry has brought a staggering £18 million into the Yorkshire economy.

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, starring Scots heart-throb Ewan McGregor, earned £3million for Scarborough during its four-week stint filming at the seaside resort last November.

And Elizabeth, the historic drama about the Virgin Queen, brought an estimated £75,000 to York when the crew spent four days in the city filming at the Minister last October.

Shuna Frood, of the Yorkshire Screen Commission - which aims to attract film makers to the region - said: "You can guarantee that the average production spends about 30 per cent of its budget in the area where it shoots.

"Take a £2 million feature - a lot of that money goes into the area and stays in the area through the hiring of local extras, crews and the use of local hotels."She said Yorkshire was attractive to film makers for a variety of reasons.

"It has a variety of different locations all within a two-hour drive, it is cheaper and easier to film here and you have the M1 and the A1 and two airports at Leeds/Bradford and Sheffield.

"There are lots of big hotels and a fair amount of facilities and the police and the local authorities are very positive about filming and bend over backwards to accommodate them because it means so much for us."

Another major British film starts filming in North Yorkshire this summer - as yet its title, stars and exact location are top secret.

And, increasingly, says Shuna, inquires about filming in the region are leading to people coming here.

"We are always getting inquiries, the real difference is the amount that become productions."

Recent films made in the county include:An Inch Above The Horizon, starring Bob Hoskins, tells the story of local captain Jack Lammiman and was shot on location at Whitby. It was recently shown at the Cannes Film Festival.The Life And Crimes Of William Palmer - starring Keith Allen - was filmed at the Old Brewery at Helperby, near Easingwold.Elizabeth, starring Sir Richard Attenborough, is currently in post production and is expected to hit the cinema screens in September or October.

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