A Hackney-born special effects artist has won the film industry’s ‘big one’ for his work in Hollywood.

Dave Elsey, originally of Priory Court, Homerton, has was awarded an Oscar for the prosthetic make-up in The Wolfman.

The 43-year-old, who now lives in Los Angeles, transformed Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro into a terrifyingly realistic werewolf with the help of best friend Rick Baker.

His mother Marie, 77, who still lives in Homerton, said: “I’m over the moon.

“He has been working really hard and it hasn’t come easy but he did it in the end.”

Dave went to Kingsmead Primary School in Kings Mead Way then the former Mehetabel Road School and Upton House Secondary School.

He told the Gazette ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony last night (February 27): “Doing The Wolfman was a dream job for me, as I remember growing up in Hackney in the 70s watching the old classic Universal horror movies on a Saturday night as a kid. I used to beg my mum and dad to let me watch them, and wonder how the monsters were made. Thank goodness I had great parents who encouraged my imagination because now I’m lucky enough to do this as a job.”