A south London borough is hoping to shake off its dull and boring image by marketing itself as a glamorous backdrop for Hollywood movies.

The Croydon Film Commission says it has enough high rise buildings to look like New York and its new tram system is similar to the one in Prague.

The Commission says Croydon's streets, shopping centres and parks can provide typical urban scenes for film makers.

The promotion will start with a guided tour for directors, location managers and production staff.

Touch of Prague

The Commission, working in partnership with Croydon Borough Council, is setting up a film location office.

It will use nearly 3,000 photographs of the borough in its publicity, which will include a website.

It believes that with 50 high rise buildings, parts of Croydon could look like New York, especially if shot from street level.

It also says that parts of Croydon's Tramlink could pass for Prague, Stuttgart or Hamburg if English signs and advertisements are removed.

Even the trams themselves are made by the same company that makes trams for Prague.