Fans were left disappointed at last week's UK premiere of Twilight Eclipse as none of the main starsshowed up.

Lead actors Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner were thought to be held up by otherwork commitments and left the supporting cast to greet the British fans.

Eclipse is one of the most hotly-anticipated movies of the year and many fans camped overnight to see the young actors walk the red carpet in London's Leicester Square.

The Twilight saga, based on the books by Stephanie Meyer, tells the story of a teenage girl, Bella Swan, who falls in love with a vampirecalled Edward Cullen.

The third instalment in the vampire series focuses on the love trianglethat emerges between the three main characters, Bella, Edward and Jacob, Bella's childhood friend, who just happens to be a werewolf.

Ashley Greene plays Alice Cullen

Ashley Greene, who plays Edward's sister in the film, was at the premiere and explained why the main stars had not attended: "You know what, because we have so many fans in so many places they've had to split us up across the world and so, unfortunately, we can't all make it to everything."

Some fans were especially disappointed that British actor Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, did not show up.

One fan said, "At the end of the day Edward is British. Robert Pattinson's British, he should be here."

Twilight has some of the most dedicated fans across the world and Eclipse is already a massive hit Stateside. Some of the Twilight fans have even nicknamed themselves 'Twihards,' which is a pun on the word 'diehards'.

So despite the snub by the leading cast, it still seems likely that the third film will be a big hit in the UK.