Lifeboat Goes To Hollywood - almost!
The Redcar Atlantic 75 class lifeboat "Leicester Challenge 2" paid a visit to wartime Dunkirk - without leaving sight of the lifeboat station!

The area of sea front to the west of the lifeboat station was transformed in August 2006 by a major film company making the cinema version of the best selling novel "Atonement" by Ian McEwan.

The story includes scenes of the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940 and the film's producers scoured the UK looking for a seaside town with architecture similar to the french town of Dunkirk at that time.

Redcar was chosen because the late 1800's buildings on the sea front and the nearby steelworks made the town a virtual carbon copy of Dunkirk.

An amazing transformation took place with the aid of plywood and polystyrene to create the impression of war-torn France and in the last few days before filming the beach was stacked with boats, trucks and other props to make it look like Dunkirk in the dark days of the Second World War. There was even a 35metre Thames sailing barge delivered in 4 pieces by truck and assembled overnight to complete the effect.

The film, had it's regional premiere in Redcar in September 2007.

Scroll down for some more incredible images of the transformation.