SHOOTING Fish, the comedy produced by a Blackburn man's company, has been hailed the most successful British independent film ever.

Unlike other British success stories such as Four Weddings And A Funeral, Trainspotting and The Full Monty, the film has not been partly financed by overseas studios or television companies such as Channel 4.

Shooting Fish took £1.8 million at the British box office in the first ten days, helping shares to rocket in Winchester Films, whose chairman is Blackburn-bred Gary Smith.

Gary said the figures meant Shooting Fish was already in the record books for an independent film.

"The future of the British film industry has never looked brighter," he said.

"There is a resurgence of British talent and it is good to see that with the right marketing an independent film can be up there with the big budget studio films."

Shooting Fish revolves around the scams of three twenty-somethings who are determined to get rich quick.

It was made with the help of £1million Lottery cash, which will be fully repaid from box office takings.

The movie has already been nominated for awards at a number of film festivals around the world.

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