Cinema staff were rewarded for stopping two attempts of film piracy in Cineworld Wood Green. Picture: Kake Pugh

CINEMA staff have been applauded for stopping customers secretly recording big screen movies in the act.

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Three employees caught the criminals red-handed with their camcorders during screenings at the Cineworld, in High Road, Wood Green.

Police were called out to two incidents of film piracy and the suspects either cautioned or arrested.

Cineworld manager Minhazur Chowdhury, Amine Menadli and Carl Lewis were awarded with their share of a £2,900 reward - a sum being handed out by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Film Distributor’s Association to 11 vigilant cinema staff across the country.

FACT director of business Jim Angell said: “These rewards prove the ongoing commitment from everyone working in the film sector to combat piracy.

“A recording captured in a cinema is the primary source for illicit online files and pirate DVDs and cinema staff are on the frontline of the fight, continuing to prevent such recordings in the UK. I am delighted to be able to acknowledge and reward their achievements.”

Illicit recordings are often uploaded on to the internet and available to download by millions of people worldwide - setting the film industry back more than half a billion pounds every year.

But staff, like those at Cineworld Wood Green, are being trained to thwart piracy attempts in the act.