BROOKSIDE Close was the scene of the most gruesome murder in soap history.

The killing of wife-beater Trevor Jordache has regularly been voted soapland's most macabre moment.

Evil Jordache was stabbed by daughter Beth, played by Rochdale actress Anna Friel, and later found buried under the family patio.

Now, five years after the popular show went off air, Stockport film director Lawrence Gough is bringing the blood and gore back to Brookie.

Lawrence, 37, from Cheadle Hulme, is due to start filming his horror flick Salvage on the real-life Liverpool close.

His feature-length movie will be premiered as part of the city's Capital of Culture programme.

Lawrence beat off tough competition to secure a £250,000 budget from Northwest Vision and Media and make it to the final three of the Digital Departures film-making initiative.

Lawrence said: "I feel really honoured, surprised and pleased the film has been chosen. We're using Brookside because someone mentioned it.

"It's a real close with gardens and everything else you'd expect, and I was able to strike a deal with the close's owner.

"We felt confident about the film right from the beginning.

Salvage

"We were aware Salvage was a powerful genre piece blending contemporary issues with contemporary horror.

"This means as much as it does in terms of someone giving me the money to make this film - and that means everything."

The movie sees the residents of a cul-de-sac fenced in by the military searching for a suspected terrorist.

Fiona Gasper, of Capital of Culture, said: "We were particularly attracted by the Salvage team's seemingly endless enthusiasm for their story, together with the creativity and vision of this young, dynamic new talent."

The film was written by Colin O'Donnell, a former story editor on Chester-based soap Hollyoaks.

Lawrence's love of films began during his childhood in San Francisco during the 1970s.

He has directed shorts through his company Hoax Films, winning awards including Best in the Northwest and Best Drama, from Manchester's Cornerhouse Cinema.

In addition to being broadcast on the BBC, it is hoped the Digital Departure films will be distributed both nationally and internationally across a variety of digital platforms.