A KIDDERMINSTER actor and military antiques expert can be seen in his biggest role to date in a forthcoming drama about the grim realities of WWI.

Craig Leonard has been involved in running military re-enactments and shows all over the country for more than 30 years and his expertise has landed him acting roles in major films including Atonement and Cockneys vs Zombies to BBC dramas including Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

The 49-year-old, who runs monthly Wyre Forest Auctions at Wolverley Memorial Hall and a military and vintage fair at the Gilt Edge Centre in Kidderminster, has also taken on roles assisting with set design, costume and as a military history advisor to film and TV productions.

His latest job in front of the camera sees him playing a lead role in two-part documentary War Above The Trenches, directed by Stephen Saunders, which explores the relationship between troops on the ground and the brave airmen of the First World War.

Mr Leonard, who has been collecting and selling military collectibles since he was 14, was selected to star in the drama alongside Stourbridge actors Luke Dalton, Samm Robinson and Charlie Rowlands - who were all enlisted to play members of the British Army's Royal Fusiliers.

A former Royal Fusilier himself for six years from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Mr Leonard, who grew up in Lye in the Black Country, said: “This really resonated with me - making me want to to do my best to tell these men's story."

The ex-serviceman, who runs the Vintage Mummy shop in Kidderminster, plays a sergeant who leads his men through intense shelling, gas attacks and bayonet charges in the film, by ASA Productions, which depicts the story of the Royal Flying Corps’ bitter struggle for air superiority over the Western Front during WWI.

He said: “The filming was certainly intense at times - recreating the slow walk with bayonets fixed through exploding artillery, crossing barbed wire and coming under fire from real section five machine guns from the history-in-the-making film company."

War Above The Trenches is set to air on April 1 next year on the Yesterday channel, available on Freeview.

Mr Leonard's next military fair will be on Sunday November 12 at the Gilt Edge Centre, Zortech Ave, Kidderminster, and his next auction event will be on Monday November 13 at Wolverley Memorial Hall.