LINTHWAITE martial arts students karate-chopped their way on to the set of a new movie.

A team of eight from the Colne Valley Black Belt Academy bagged roles in epic adventure film Dark Eden.

The film, part of a trilogy, is described as Indiana Jones meets Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon.

It is set to be next year's biggest martial arts movie.

Episode one of the trilogy follows the prophesied destiny of an orphan corrupted by dark powers.

Dark Eden is the first of its kind to feature Silat - a traditional martial art from south East Asia.

The form, which is taught at the Colne Valley academy, is executed with flowing dance-like moves. Dark Eden is British made with British martial arts stars. It features scenes shot on location at Bradford.

The academy was selected by the film-makers to send its students along for a day's filming.

They appear as extras in a nightclub scene, and had basic stunt training for their roles.

Academy instructor Salvatore Greenwood said: "A group of our pupils from the age of 18 to 40 took part, and they loved it.

"Some did a bit of stunt work and the others were extras in the background of a scene.

"It was a long day for them and they were there from 7am to 8pm- but they had a great day.

Member Nikoll Gjoka, 18, took part on the day.

He said: "It was a really good experience working on a film.

"We had to stand in the background and make sure the nightclub looked full.

"The lead guys were fantastic-I definitely want to do stunts in films in the future."

For another scene in the film, world-famous stuntman Dave Judge dived 220ft from Bradford City Hall's clock tower.

Dark Eden is due for cinema release in December 2007.