ESTATE BUILT FOR HEROES

THE Mirror’s short film celebrating the 100th birthday of Britain’s first council estate, the Becontree, will be shown at a film festival today.

- ROS WYNNE-JONES

A collaboration with Northern Heart Films and film students at Barking and Dagenham College, it has been nominated for two of the festival’s awards – best documentary and best local film.

Built for the working class heroes of the First World War, the Becontree was the start of a new vision for families who had spent generations in the slums.

At four square miles and housing 100,000 people, the estate – which is in the borough of Barking and Dagenham in East London, but was in Essex at the time it was built – is still Britain’s biggest.

Over the past few months, the film project has unearthed dozens of stories from the estate – including details of Gandhi’s visit there.