The Beatles: Heritage campaigners bid to protect Fab Four birthplaces

The application argues the Liverpool band's birthplaces should be listed for "group significance"

Campaigners have bid to give the birthplaces of The Beatles registered status and get official recognition for "where it all started".

SAVE Britain's Heritage has applied to list two homes and a maternity hospital in Liverpool where George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon were born.

Charity director Henrietta Billings said they were "key" to the Fab Four's "individual and collective story".

Sir Paul McCartney's birthplace at Walton Hospital is already protected.

Ms Billings said the sites drew fans of "the most influential band in the history of global popular music" from across the world, and were deserving of protection.

"Our message to the government is let these buildings into your heart," she said.

John Lennon was born at Oxford St Maternity Hospital in 1940

The childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney at 251 Menlove Avenue and 20 Forthlin Road were listed in 2012.

Lennon's birthplace at Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, which opened in 1926 and shut in 1995, was also where the world's first surviving sextuplets were born in 1983.

The enduring popularity of The Beatles was shown when single Now and Then topped the charts last month, 60 years after their first single release.

SAVE Britain's Heritage, a charity which fights to protect historical buildings, said the success of the newly-released track prompted it to apply for the birthplaces to be listed.

George Harrison's birthplace, 12 Arnold Grove, Liverpool, with the white door

Ringo Starr's birthplace on Madryn Street was the centre of a redevelopment row

Ringo Star was born in Victorian home on 9 Madryn Street L8 3UT, one of 8,000 built by Welsh-born architect Richard Owens.

It was saved from demolition in 2016 after a row in which the council had threatened to demolish terraces as part of plans to regenerate the area.

Jonathan Brown, who prepared the listing application for the charity, said the sites had "outstanding and enduring historic, cultural and artistic interest".

He said: "We would like this to happen rapidly, in part so the remaining band members and families can further appreciate the respect and affection in which they are held locally, nationally and internationally."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]