New film being made about the life of famous palaeontologist Mary Anning

A new film is being made about the life of palaeontologist Mary Anning who made groundbreaking fossil discoveries on the coast of Dorset.

Her name isn't perhaps as well known as it should be as, when she was working in the 19th century, women rarely received the recognition they deserved.

Now the film, Mary Anning and the Dinosaur Hunters, aims to put that right.

Mary Anning made some of the most important geological discoveries of all time.

In the early 1800s, she scoured the beaches of Dorset finding evidence of marine reptiles which shook the scientific community.

Sharon Sheehan was inspired by the story of Mary Anning. As a child she hunted for fossils herself with her family and she passed the bug on to her own children, bringing them to the beach at Lyme Regis.

Sharon's daughter Katharine is now playing the part of Mary Anning in the film alongside Jenny Agutter.

Mary Anning's name is well enough known in Lyme Regis. There is a blue plaque on the town's museum which stands on the site of her home and a new wing built in her name opened earlier this year.

There are several fossils she found on display at the museum - the first Ichthyosaur which was found by Mary Anning and her brother Joseph in 1811.

The real thing is in the Natural History Museum. The one at the Lyme Regis Museum is a cast but it was found in Dorset.

There is a reason they call it the Jurassic Coast and the whole film has been shot on location in Lyme Regis.

The film is not yet finished. They still need to find more funding but are hoping it will be released in cinemas next summer.