A new film version of Oliver Twist starring local disabled actors will be screened at Keighley Picture House.

The North Street cinema will next Tuesday host the sell-out premiere of A Parish Boy's Progress.

The cast of the 105-minute movie consists almost entirely of Keighley people with learning disabilities.

They joined a small number of professional performers, including Carry On actress Fenella Fielding.

The title role is played by Keighley man Steven Ginn, who has learning disabilities.

The film has been a four-year labour of love for care worker and former professional actor Tony Homyer.

For 12 years he has worked with learning-disabled adults who attended Keighley Day Services.

As Innerspace they regularly performed atmospheric dramas at schools, community centres and tourist attractions across Yorkshire.

Mr Homyer said the tour of Oliver Twist in 2005 was extremely successful and powerful.

He said: "I felt all the ingredients were there for the most faithful realisation of the Dickens story yet to be seen on film."

The team embarked on four years of filming with many of the cast playing the same roles as on stage.

Actors from Keighley Day Services - run by Bradford Council - were joined by others with learning disabilities from across Bradford district.

To get an authentic look, filming took place in York - standing in for London - and major museums, including the Brontë Parsonage.

Mr Homyer said: "It has been hard work but it has all been worth it. So many people have said how inspiring the film is." Mr Homyer said Charles Dickens's story had a particular resonance for performers with learning disabilities.

He said that in Victorian times, such people would be among those confined to the main streets that Dickens described.

He said: "Oliver Twist is one of the most realistic and disturbing pictures of child abuse and exploitation ever put down on paper.

"The truth was shocking to Victorian readers and has powerful resonances for us in the 21st century. This is no fairy story. It is about survival. It is about a destroyed childhood."

Mr Homyer has named the film A Parish Boy's Progress because it was Dickens's original title for his book.

John Vickers, manager of Keighley Day Services, said the film was an excellent production.

He added: "It portrays total integration between professional and learning disabled actors. It is a testament to the skills of all those involved."

A Parish Boy's Progress will be shown on the Picture House's second screen at 5pm, using its DVD projection equipment.

Due to the film's popularity - several local schools have requested tickets - the cinema hopes to arrange a second screening. Anyone interested in booking should phone 01535 691926.