Actor Nick Moran soared to stardom as the head of an East End gang in Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels but in his latest film the tables are turned.

In Ashes And Sand, filmed in Brighton, the wide-boy actor plays a policeman cracking down on the city's gang culture.

Based on Brighton writer Judy Upton's award-winning play about a relationship between a young girl and a disturbed cop, the film investigates the tough contemporary world of Brighton's teenage girl-gangs.

Lara Belmont, who starred in Tim Roth's directorial debut The War Zone, plays Hayley, a 15-year-old gang leader.

The Palace Pier, the Lanes and the Victorian colonnades of Madeira Drive provide the backdrop to the dark thriller.

The girls spend their time mugging tourists on the seafront in an attempt to get together enough money to leave Brighton and escape their poverty, crumbling families and dead-end prospects.

Hayley has a secret plan to take her gang to Bali, which she believes will be their tropical paradise.

However, when she first sees Moran's character, Daniel, arresting a robbery suspect, she is transfixed and transfers her energy to seducing him. Events start to spiral out of control before a tragic ending.

Moran, who visited Brighton in the run-up to the Ashes And Sand premiere on Tuesday, believes the city is becoming a new focus for the UK film industry.

He said: "Brighton has an organic film community of film-makers and production companies, such as Spice Factory.

"Loads of films are now made here. There's a big film community and student community - all the ingredients."

Director Bob Blagden found Brighton an ideal location. Ashes And Sand is his film debut, though he has directed television dramas for 18 years.

He said: "The film festival here has loads of potential. Apart from the weather and the lack of sand, I could see it becoming like Cannes."

Judy, who grew up in Shoreham, wrote Ashes And Sand in 1994 as a play.

She said: "I thought I knew all the Brighton locations but I took some artistic licence with a secret tunnel beneath the Sealife Centre only to find out it actually existed."

The film has already been bought for distribution in Australia, Thailand and Mexico.

It makes its UK premiere at Cine City, the Brighton Film Festival, which runs to December 4.

It is showing at The Odeon, Brighton, tomorrow at 8pm. To book tickets, call The Odeon on 01273 323317.