An evening paper and its city MP found themselves snubbed by cinema bosses the day they trekked to London to deliver a petition.

The Evening Press has been campaigning to save York’s Odeon Cinema, a listed art deco building which faces closure possibly to make way for a housing development.

So campaign reporter Matthew Woodcock, along with York MP Hugh Bayley and town crier John Redpath, travelled to the capital to hand a 13,600-signature petition to senior Odeon chiefs.

But they never got further than the front door of group headquarters near Leicester Square.

Despite buzzing the intercom to ask for chief executive Ian Pluthero or another senior manager, a voice asked them to wait outside while she made inquiries and after 15 minutes the MP again buzzed the intercom, told the woman “we have been standing here like lemons for too long” – and asked for someone to come down.

After another ten minutes on the doorstep they were told there was no one “in authority” available to take the petition, but could they “push it through the letterbox”.

They refused and stressed that out of respect for the thousands who had signed it, they would only deliver it by hand.

Five minutes later a woman, who refused to give her name or role, came to the door and agreed to pass on the petition to Mr Pluthero, along with a letter from Evening Press editor Kevin Booth.

Kevin said afterwards: “We are hugely disappointed that the Odeon chose to snub the Evening Press, the views of more than 13,600 readers and the city’s MP.

“Surely the number of signatures gathered during this tremendously successful campaign is a strong indicator of the depth of feeling for this institution.

“All we were asking was for the Odeon management to spare a few moments to acknowledge the concern of our readers for such an important facility in our city.”

Town Crier John was so upset by their treatment that he later rang his bell and ceremonially announced the Evening Press campaign message outside the Odeon in Leicester Square, which was preparing to hold a glittering premiere of the forthcoming blockbuster, Starsky & Hutch.

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