A LOCAL filmmaker has released a film he made in Joys Green in 1981 about Montague Morgan, one of the village’s late residents.

Derek Jones said: “I made the film about Monty, a middle aged man with learning difficulties, who lived in my home village of Joys Green. It is a unique snapshot of life in the Forest of Dean and of attitudes at that time.”

Monty was well-known in the area and the film shows the treatment he received at the hands of local children as well as giving an insight into how Monty lived. In one scene a child is heard to ask Monty what it’s like ‘being the village idiot’. Others express a more sympathetic view towards Monty, who had lived alone in a caravan on the edge of the village after his parents died when he was in his forties.

Monty set fire to the caravan in what his solicitor described as a ‘cry for help’. Derek added: “I met Monty after the fire and he was still living in the caravan, which I think the council refurbished. Later in life Monty moved to a flat in the village. He still suffered a lot of abuse, but a lot of local people looked out for him too.

“I’ve enjoyed a long and successful career in television as a producer and director on programmes such as Panorama and Dispatches, but this film has never been shown, despite attempts to get it broadcast on Channel 4 when it launched in 1982. Sadly Monty never saw the film himself.”

To watch the film, search for ‘Monty 1981’ on You Tube.