Photographer Keith Meatheringham writes for HoldTheFrontPage about recent fun and games at the Harry Potter film set

I went to photograph the first-ever filming of Harry Potter's new movie last week at Goathland station in North Yorkshire.

When I arrived I met up with two other snappers who told me it was a closed set.

I assumed it would be, as I have come across closed sets before on Heartbeat, and also Gwyneth Paltrow's new film, just to mention a couple.

We started taking pictures from a bridge which was on a public road looking down to the old railway station about 300 yards away.

It was then we were confronted by a young man wielding a rather large umbrella.

He said: "No pictures allowed. It's a closed set."

When we told him that we were within our rights to take pictures from wherever we liked, as long as it didn't harm anyone, and was on public land, he just replied with: "Yes, you can but I can also make it very difficult for you by putting an umbrella in front of your lenses."

Stunned at the situation we found ourselves in, we started to move back and forth, one side to another to dodge the oncoming umbrellas, which by this time had doubled in numbers after another so-called security guard had turned up as reinforcement.

After a while we noticed this very angry security guard heading at speed in our direction along the railway line. Shouting, in a very aggressive manner at us: "You f****** lot can stop taking pictures right now. You're a right string vest."

When I questioned him later I found this was Cockney rhyming slang for PEST!

He added: "I am coming up there."

He pointed at us with his radio. We all agreed that the bloke had lost it big time.

When he got to the bridge where we were he continued to hurl verbal abuse at us in a very threatening manner.

When we told him we were just trying to do our job and we were not causing any suffering to anyone, nor were we trespassing, he replied: "You f****** lot think you're great, don't you?"

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