British actor and film director Lionel Jeffries has died at the age of 83.
Best known for directing The Railway Children and appearing in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, his long career spanned theatre, film and television.
Known for his bald head, baritone voice and bristling moustache, he trained at RADA before making his screen debut in 1950.
Born in the East End in 1926, Jeffries served in Burma during World War II.
Despite the success of The Railway Children, for which he wrote the script, he only made four more films as a director.
These included The Amazing Mr Blunden in 1972, Wombling Free in 1977 and The Water Babies the following year.
He played Dick Van Dyke's father Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, despite being the American actor's junior by six months.
