Yorkshire racecourse decorated in Nazi flags for film shoot

Doncaster Racecourse, home of the classic St Leger meet, has been taken over by film crews and extras shooting scenes based on the 1936 Berlin Games.

Two weeks ago, production teams took over York City's Bootham Crescent football ground as part of the same shoot.

The racecourse buildings were bedecked with swastika flags and actors were seen dressed in Nazi uniforms, as well as contemporary national sports kit.

Although details of the film were being kept under wraps when the York scenes were being shot, it can now be revealed that it is actually a Bollywood movie called Gold.

The film focuses on India's first post-independence Olympic medal, which the men's hockey team won at London 1948, beating hosts Great Britain in the final. As part of the story, there are a number of flashback sequences featuring the squad's appearance at the previous Games in Nazi Germany. The competition was suspended during the war years.

The project is directed by Reema Kagti and features Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

Other Yorkshire locations hired for the shoot include Dalton Mill in Keighley. Around 2,000 extras are involved.