THE makers of a film about Sherlock Holmes were forced to re-turf the area outside Oxford's historic Radcliffe Camera when their artificial snow destroyed the grounds.

The snow was used by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment company in June 1985 to recreate winter in Radcliffe Square.

But as with many TV thrillers it came with a sting in the tale.

The artificial snow killed a large area of grass behind the Radcliffe Camera building and contractors were forced to replace the entire turf - with film-makers footing the bill.

At the time Dr Robert Gasser, a bursar of Brasenose College, said the film company had already agreed to pay for any damage caused during the filming.