Taking London by Storm

A spectacular scene from new movie Stormbreaker, in which two teenagers career across London in a frantic chase on horseback, is one of the longest chase scenes ever shot in the capital.

It covered four miles across Hyde Park and Rotten Row, around Hyde Park Corner and along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus, on the Holborn Viaduct and through Paternoster Square and ended up in Leadenhall Street.

More than 50 cars, 12 London taxis and three double-deck buses took part, along with 20 members of the Household Cavalry. The sequence took 10 days to film and features the main character, young spy Alex Rider, played by Alex Pettyfer, with his friend Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger).

Ewan McGregor, Alicia Silverstone, Sophie Okonedo, Bill Nighy and Mickey Rourke also star.

The movie is based on the first of Anthony Horowitz's six Stormbreaker novels following Rider, a reluctant 14-year-old spy.

It premieres in London tonight, with general release on Friday. To shoot the scene, weeks of cooperation were necessary between the Metropolitan police, the Royal Parks, Westminster council, Transport for London and the Corporation of London.

Its success has prompted Royal Parks to bring in a new policy to encourage film-makers to use its sites. Rather than applying to each of the eight separate parks for permission to film, movie-makers can now make a single application to cover them all.

Film London chief executive Adrian Wootton said: 'The Royal Parks offer some of the top locations in London for film-makers, and have hosted everything from The Ipcress File to Mrs Henderson Presents. We're delighted to have worked with them to make these locations even more film-friendly.'

Hamleys, Brompton Cemetery, Liverpool Street station and the Science Museum feature in the film, while a Hendon car breaker's yard was the set for an action scene supposedly in Hong Kong.