Demolition of former Plymouth's Hoe Centre begins

The 1950s-built block had also been an architecture school

Demolition work has begun on a well-known former armed services building in Plymouth, near the city's seafront.

Bulldozers are working at the Hoe Centre in Notte Street, which is owned by University of Plymouth.

The university said the site had become dangerous since the 1950s-built block stopped being used in 2007.

An application will be submitted for student accommodation to be built on the site. A campaign to save it on the website Facebook attracted 200 members.

'Beautiful qualities'

Campaigner Joakim Boren said: "This is one of the nicest buildings of the 1950s and it's being torn down.

"It represents the post-war archtecture of Plymouth. It could have been regenerated.

"It has beautiful qualities."

The building originally provided a base for the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) to provide catering, retail and leisure services for members of the armed forces in the city.

It was later bought by the university and housed the university's school of architecture from the 1980s until it closed.