Dozens of mods and skinheads descended on the coast for the filming of a big-budget Hollywood movie.

Photographs taken on Margate's seafront yesterday reveal Sam Mendes' latest picture Empire of Light will feature scenes depicting racial tensions during the 1980s.

The images show 75 scooter riders dressed in parka jackets along Marine Terrace, while a far-right group wielding banners walk behind.

A number of the National Front signs were etched with slogans like "no room here" and "white power".

A spokesman for the film's production company, Neal Street Productions, said: “Our film is set in the early 1980s when racial tensions were running high in many parts of the UK.

"There are some scenes in Empire of Light that reflect those times.”

The scene will depict an altercation outside the cinema, as skinheads start banging on its door.

Empire of Light is understood to be a love story set in and around a cinema during the 1980s.

Director Sam Mendes was also behind the camera for 1917, American Beauty and Bond films Skyfall and Spectre.

The movie will star Oscar-winners Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, as well as Toby Jones and Top Boy's Micheal Ward.

Parts of Margate have been transformed, with Dreamland made to look like a retro-looking picture house named the Empire and the seafront lit up between Nayland Rock and the Turner Contemporary.

During filming yesterday, the makeshift cinema was advertising Raging Bull on one of its screens.

Bosses say some of the scooters used included Vespas and Lambrettas.

Filming of Empire of Light started in March, with the seafront turned into a winter wonderland with fake snow.

It is expected to continue until May 21.