HOLLYWOOD moguls have a word for it: epic. Our crusade to save York's last remaining historic cinema has attracted an astonishing 10,000 signatories in just six weeks.

Although we knew that the Odeon has a special place in the hearts of many York people, the scale of the support has been a terrific surprise.

For nearly 70 years, the cinema has offered an escape route from the troubles and routine of normal life; a short cut to adventure, romance and fun.

As so many of our correspondents from across the world have testified, the cinema is also a social club. Numerous marriages can be traced back to the Blossom Street picture palace.

All this, and it is a terrific building to boot. The grade II listed cinema is one of the most striking of its era. Once, the exterior was matched by a gloriously extravagant interior, as the pictures we published this week emphasised.

However, our campaign is not aimed at fossilising a film theatre. It is about maintaining an essential facility for modern York.

Comedian Griff Rhys Jones has a passion for conserving historic buildings, but that was not the key reason for his support for the campaign. "We all still go to the cinema, it's still an important art form, it's still a thriving industry," he wrote. "I really believe that short-term economic gain will be long-term economic loss."

So do we - and 10,000 others. Every one of you who signed the petition has given Hugh Bayley more negotiating muscle as he meets with a senior Odeon manager today.

Nevertheless, still greater efforts may yet be required to secure a Hollywood-style happy ending.

Updated: 09:57 Friday, February 27, 2004