Fake snow used in the filming of a classic horror film has been discovered buried in a heap of rubble at Elstree Studios.

Mysterious bags of white powder were discovered by contractors tasked with clearing up the infamous ‘mound’ at the studios in Shenley Road, Borehamwood.

Testing showed the strange dust was snow used during the shooting of Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror film The Shining more than 34 years ago.

The film's executive producer Jan Harlan said: “For the winter scene a huge amount of artificial snow was added using formaldehyde based foam, which hardens when in contact with air, and was then covered with salt in order to obtain a realistic crystal effect.

“By now the 'snow' may well have pulverised after 34 years. This was relatively easy, the real problem was adding artificial mist to give the image a mysterious glow.

“Thin vegetable smoke was subject to be blown away in seconds in the case of the slightest bit of wind. No wind and good luck is part of film-making.

“The whole area was covered in fake snow for the filming.”

The mound of earth, directly behind the Big Brother Studios, is being cleared from the site as part of a £6.5m project to expand the studios.

Earlier this year, contractors discovered an unexploded bomb which they originally thought was a prop from a First World War film made at studios nearby.

But experts later confirmed the device was a Second World War mutilation device with explosive content.

However, there is still no sign of the Millennium Falcon, which was rumoured to be buried at the studios after the filming of the original Star Wars films.