Volunteers sought for Hull's National Picture Theatre memorial

The National Picture Theatre was bombed in 1941 while showing a Charlie Chaplin film

Volunteers are being sought to help turn a derelict cinema which was bombed during World War Two into a national memorial.

The National Picture Theatre on Beverley Road, Hull, was hit by German bombs in 1941, leaving just the facade.

Work is under way to turn it into a memorial and education centre covering civilian life in the city during the war.

Councillor Darren Hale said the site was "incredibly important to Hull".

The cinema opened in 1914 and was bombed during a raid on 18 March 1941 while showing Charlie Chaplin's anti-Hitler comedy The Great Dictator.

All 150 people who were watching the film all escaped without serious injury.

The building is a very rare example of a blitzed ruin, and the city council claims it is the only example of its kind in the country.

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A visitor centre with an auditorium, exhibition space and an education centre is planned

Hull suffered its first daylight bombing raid in June 1940 and its last attack was in March 1945.

Most attacks on the city took place during 1940 and 1941 and 1,200 people were killed in the city.

The council hopes to turn it into a place of remembrance to the people who endured the city's blitz and to recruit about 50 Volunteers in all.

Duties would include marketing, planning, historical research, conservation work and staffing the site once it was restored and open, it added.

The council and the National Civilian World War II Memorial Trust are developing a second stage lottery application for November with a result expected in 2021, it said.