ACTOR John Thomson has spoken of his anger over the demolition of Withington’s Cine City.

The star of The Fast Show and New Street Law, who launched a campaign six years ago to save the cinema, said it was a shame the end had finally come for the iconic building.

He told the Reporter: "It’s very sad that Cine City’s closed and is now going to be pulled down.

"It’s meant a lot to me and a lot of other people over the years, and it’s a real shame that it couldn’t be saved and restored to its original glory."

He added: "It added some great character to Withington and I think a lot of the uniqueness is disappearing now around south Manchester."

John, 38, lived on Davenport Avenue in Withington when he was studying drama at Manchester Metropolitan University with his mate and future co-star of Paul Calf’s Video Diaries, Steve Coogan.

He said: "I used to love going to Cine City. They used to have these late night screenings and loads of people would go in drunk after going to the pub, but that sort of added to it.

"It was an old flea pit really, but it always had a great atmosphere. And my mum and dad used to go there when they were courting and they saw The Graduate, so it’s like there’s all this history that’s been lost."

The cinema opened in 1912 as The Scala. It later became Cine City and continued to show films until 2001, making it the third longest running cinema at the time.

The site is to redeveloped to house 17 apartments and a ground floor store.

John said: "I’m sick of seeing flats everywhere.

"I know the cinema’s been closed for a while now and it would have needed a lot of investment to bring it up to scratch, but surely they could have done something with it and had themed film nights along the lines of Rocky Horror or something.

"Or maybe, for anyone that had the money and the time, it would have been good to link it with the White Lion next door, which is also sadly closed, and have a fantastic restaurant and bar." He added: "There’s so many great places that have been knocked down, like the old Capitol Theatre that me and Steve trained in, that there’s less character and less independence to the area."

Scaffolding went up on the Wilmslow Road cinema last week as the process to demolish the historic picture house gets underway.

The Britannia Property Group which owns the dilapidated cinema says it is beyond repair.

John, who now lives in West Didsbury with his wife Sam and five-year-old daughter, Olivia, said: "We need to try and save these places and that’s also why I put my name to the Marie Louise Gardens petition.

"There’s only a few places left that are keeping the spirit of independence alive - like Axons, Evans and The Cheese Hamlet in Didsbury."