More than £5 million has been spent in South-West Wales during 2009-10 as a direct result of the filming of Robin Hood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and several other movies.

Filming for the Robin Hood epic and the Harry Potter blockbuster took place at Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire last year.

The figure was announced by Katherine Thomas of the Wales Screen Commission on Thursday in a presentation to Pembrokeshire County Council’s economy overview and scrutiny committee.

It comprises film company spending in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, and the figure is set to rise further when more projects have confirmed their expenditure.

However, Katherine said Robin Hood and Harry Potter were the biggest projects in 2009/2010 by far, with a ‘quite staggering’ amount of expenditure locally.

"Last year was an exceptional year for Pembrokeshire," she said. "We were delighted, not only with the money that was spent here, but with the calibre of the projects.

"If Pembrokeshire is good enough for Ridley Scott, other filmmakers will hopefully think it’s good enough for them."

She said the film companies used many local facilities and services, from accommodation to transport, fuel, local shops, and more.

"I know that the launderettes were very busy, with some operating 24 hours a day, and the local pubs also did very well," she said.