A 26-YEAR-OLD actor from St Helens can be seen starring on the big screen alongside Maxine Peake in historic film Peterloo.

David Moorst from Haresfinch stars as Joseph Ogden in the movie - which tells the story of the Peterloo massacre in August 1819, when a small unit of the British Army Reserves charged into a crowd of at least 60,000.

The people had assembled in St Peter’s Field in Manchester to listen to radical reformer Henry Hunt at a time when there was famine and less than two per cent of the UK population could vote.

At least 15 people were killed and many hundreds injured.

The horror of the event forced the issue over ordinary working people being given the right to vote.

David is the first character we see in the film as a bugler who survived the Battle of Waterloo.

He comes home to his family in Manchester - led by his mum Maxine Peake - and is then caught up in the events of Peterloo four years later.

This is the first major film role for former Cowley pupil David who missed out on personally accepting his Pride of St Helens Arts award in 2015 due to filming commitments for the role.

His “extremely proud” mum Pam Moorst, who attended the premiere of the film in Manchester with David, said: “This was a part of history I knew nothing about, which is quite sad as it had such a huge effect on Manchester and Lancashire, so when David told me he got a part in the film and I looked it up I was shocked.

“It’s great that Mike Leigh cast Northern actors for the roles and there is no lead characters either which is good because they all have an important part in the film.

“It’s very emotional for me to watch because that’s my son on the screen as this character he’s survived a war and comes home to his family, I imagined how I would feel and then obviously what happened from then.

“It’s a very sad film obviously with the massacre but it’s very important and being so close to St Helens I wish we knew more about it.

“I watched it several times now, I’m extremely proud of him and he did a great job.

“Maxine was lovely for him to work with as well.

“I hope people will go and watch the film and support a St Helens lad.”