IT is all too easy to turn a blind eye to society's problems when they are not our own.

Violence, abuse, addiction, poverty, joblessness...if we are honest many of us like to pretend it is not around us.

But former Grappenhall author-turned-director Helen Walsh has never shied away from the darker subjects in her work and in her debut film, out on Friday, she looks at a teenager who has fallen through the cracks.

In The Violators, Lauren McQueen plays Shelly, a 15-year-old who survives day-to-day in a squalid estate and lives in fear of her abusive father getting out of jail.

The film explores her encounters with manipulative loan shark Mikey Finnegan (Stephen Lord).

Although it was shot in Birkenhead, Helen admitted that the inspiration for The Violators was closer to home.

"I think Shelly’s story is a familiar one," said the 39-year-old.

"As a teenager, growing up in Warrington, I used to encounter girls like Shelly who, for whatever reason, had become ostracised from mainstream society and education.

"They are easy prey for predatory males like Mikey Finnegan who use their power and status to exploit them."

Helen was determined to make The Violators as authentic as possible so that meant filming in some risky places.

She added: "Once or twice the drug dealers chased us off the wasteland. Another time we were escorted off a notorious estate by the police armed response unit."

Quite a learning curve for a first-time director who had never previously stepped foot on a film set.

"It was tough but exhilarating," said Helen, whose dad Michael lives in Appleton and mum Malar lives in Old Hall.

"As a novelist you are in charge of every single aspect of the creative process, but as a director you are constantly fighting for that degree of creative control.

"There are so many aspects that have to come together for each shot – the performances, the cinematography, the look and feel and sound of it.

"We filmed in the middle of winter and we were constantly racing against the clock and the falling light."

The Violators took about four years to fund and put together but Helen had wanted to become a filmmaker for much longer.

The former Bradshaw Primary School pupil added: "I applied to study documentary filmmaking in London after university but simply couldn’t afford to take the place.

"I guess writing novels was an easy, immediate way of telling the stories I wanted to tell.

"But for me, The Violators was a story that could only be told visually. The post-industrial wasteland in which it is set is lonely and unfamiliar but beautiful too – and I really wanted to capture that on film."

The other Warrington connection to the film is Lauren McQueen who Helen handpicked for the lead role.

She may be from Liverpool but she started her acting career opposite Great Sankey-born Warren Brown and was in Warrington's Ordinary Lies.

"I saw her in an episode of Sky’s Little Crackers and tracked her down," said Helen.

"She had no experience in film which was a bonus for me as I was looking for very stripped-down, naturalised performances.

"It was a physically demanding and emotionally challenging role for a girl her age – she was 16 when we cast her – but her performances are incredibly assured and perfectly judged. I’m looking forward to watching her career – she has a very bright future ahead of her in film."

The Violators' hectic schedule and micro-budget saw no more than 14 people on set at any one time and everyone had about five jobs – but Helen thrived on the organised chaos.

"I loved the experience of directing," the author of four novels added.

"Your characters are alive and you are able to fully engage with them. Directors get to pick their own crew, so you are effectively working with people who you trust and are there to help facilitate your vision.

"I was blessed with a really hardworking, passionate crew. It was the aspects that I wasn’t able to control that presented the most stress like the weather, people getting ill and locations being pulled the day before filming."

"I’m excited about unleashing the phenomenal young talents that are Brogan Ellis and Lauren McQueen.

"As a writer or director though, it is rare that you are ever truly satisfied with the finished work. There are always scenes you wish you could re-shoot, reframe, re-imagine."

But Helen received her best advice – and a confidence boost – over a cup of tea with Get Carter director Mike Hodges.

"He told me that you don’t learn to direct in film school, you learn on the job – in the first 48 hours," she said.

"He also stressed the importance of going with your gut instinct, even if logic or common sense says otherwise."

- The Violators is in cinemas on Friday.

DAVID MORGAN