Actor John Thaw has been filming an episode of Kavanagh QC at Parkol Marine Engineering in Eskside Wharf, Whitby.

It was apt that he should give the place star treatment because Parkol Marine Engineering has just used £30,000 of a North Yorkshire County Council grant towards building a new dry dock which should double the firm's staff to 12 by the end of the year. Already three people have been recruited.

Esther Oliver, secretary of the company said: "This is an exciting new development which will enable us to diversify from our traditional role of maintaining fishing vessels to working on a wide range of shipping, whether tourist boat, life boat or yacht."

The dry dock will also be able to accommodate larger vessels, like the 45-metre long Scarborough Dredger which clears the harbour. Now it will no longer have to be taken outside the county for maintenance.

Mrs Oliver said: "Of course, the interest we have received from the crew of Kavanagh QC has given us an added bonus. I never expected that this expansion would lead to us becoming involved in a major television series.

The £30,000 was from the county council's PESCA grant scheme, designed to rejuvenate the declining fishing industry along the Whitby and Scarborough coastlines. PESCA is part of £225,000 of European regional development funding that the county council has secured to help local businesses diversify and expand, as well as creating new jobs or safeguarding existing ones.

Another firm to benefit from the grant is fish wholesaler Albert Sutton Ltd which has been helped to buy a new freezer and strapping machine.Two extra jobs have been taken on as the firm is now able to expand into the frozen fish market. The strapping machine means higher quality packaging which is expected to attract new contracts from some of the larger supermarkets.

Watch out for Eskside Wharf in the last of the series to be screened on ITV at 8.30pm on April 21.

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