A MARITIME attraction is the setting for a Channel Four documentary next week.

Hartlepool's Historic Quay - a full-size recreation of a Napoleonic seaport and home to Britain's oldest floating warship, HMS Trincomalee - draws in thousands of visitors a year.

On Monday, at 9pm, it is the setting for the Channel Four history programme A World in Arms, which uses dramatic re-enactments to trace the rise of the French Navy.

Many of the staff from the Historic Quay were drafted in as performers when filming took place last November.

They played roles including a chandler, a judge and seamen.

Stuart Burke, an assistant at the quay, played both a chandler and a French captain. He already had acting experience because he regularly takes part in re-enactments for tourists at the quay, in which he plays the role of an 18th Century British naval lieutenant.

He said: "The filming was great fun - even though I had to shave my beard off for the roles.

"The camera crew was at the quay for five days and nights, which included some filming on HMS Trincomalee."

The Historic Quay is no stranger to film crews. Last year it featured in BBC Television's Holiday programme and it has also been the setting for TV dramatisations of several of Catherine Cookson's best-selling novels.