Crowds gathered for a huge firework display tonight for the filming of Empire of Light.

The skies were illuminated over Margate after sunset as part of the production of the new feature film by award-winning director Sam Mendes.

Watch as the display unfolded

Crews were seen putting the fireworks in place on Margate Main Sands on Wednesday in preparation for the displays this evening, which will go on no later than 11pm.

Some areas of the beach were shut off to the public.

The team at Neal Street Productions, which is the company working with Mendes on the film, has been asked for further details about the spectacle.

Written and directed by Sam Mendes - the Oscar-winner behind blockbusters including 1917, American Beauty, and Bond films Skyfall and Spectre - Empire of Light is believed to be a love story set in and around a cinema during the 1980s.

It is the first script written solely by the director, whose films have collectively been nominated for 33 Academy Awards, winning 12.

Margate's iconic Dreamland building has been transformed into a stylish retro cinema named the Empire, while outside the building Marine Terrace has become a film set on shoot days.

Stunning decorative lights have also been strung up along the seafront and Neal Street Productions, the company behind the film, has agreed to gift them to the town permanently once filming has ended.