Foreign film investment in the UK has begun to recover after a disastrous 12 months in 2001, latest figures show.

Levels of investment from location shooting in the UK and productions based in the country fell by more than 57% in 2001 compared to 2000.

The Bond movie helped boost fortunes

The industry was hit by the effects of the 11 September attacks, as well as the foot-and-mouth crisis in the UK and threatened actors and writers' strikes in the United States.

But foreign investment in the UK film industry in the first eight months of 2002 has already surpassed levels for the whole of last year.

More than �280m has been invested in the UK by foreign film companies so far this year compared to �230.4m in 2001, according to the Film Council, the government body which promotes the industry.

"There is a sense of growing health," said Tina McFarling, head of press at the Film Council.

She added: "The films that come here come because they want to use our world-class facilities, production industry and infrastructure, the studios and crew."

But the figures are still a long way off from the levels of 2000 when �539m was invested in the UK.

"We are still not where we were," admitted Ms McFarling.

But if foreign investment is rising, domestic production continues to struggle.

The number of UK productions fell from 62 films begining production in 2001 to just 38 in the first nine months of 2002.

While investment does tend to vary from year to year because of film trends the last 18 months have hit the film industry, especially facilities companies, extremely hard.

In 2000 the figures were boosted by American series Band of Brothers, filmed on location in the UK.

This year the production of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the latest Bond movie have helped lift the gloom.

With another Harry Potter movie expected to go into production in the UK next year the industry will hope for further recovery.