BY CARLOS FINLAY

WEYMOUTH’S heartbeat has been hit with a pulse of excitement following filming for blockbuster Dunkirk in the harbour.

Hordes of locals clustered around the barriers, not to see the actual shooting, but to get a glimpse of a very famous face that is playing a lead role in the film.

Second World War military vans, vintage cars and army crates were parked and stacked along South Parade.

Extras in the movie were clad in archetypal Second World War fashion, all making for a scene which looked starkly out of place within the town’s usual tourist backdrop, but would have been commonplace in the 1940s, especially with the vital role Weymouth played in the war.

The action was captured by state-of-the-art cameras and men wielding long microphone poles, whilst visitors of all ages expressed their curiosity and elation at having such an event held just outside their front doors.

The main cause of this hysteria: former One Direction member Harry Styles.

I was going to travel by bus to see the spectacle, but with the warning of traffic as a result of movie preparation and ecstatic One Direction fans, I took the train instead.

Unfortunately, as high as people stood on their tiptoes, Styles could not be seen for the most part.

Further down the harbour, past the Pavilion and near to the Jurassic Skyline seemed to be where most of the action was taking place.

Nonetheless, the excitement it has brought to Weymouth is undeniable, and Dunkirk is sure to be a box office hit in Dorset.