Sue Perkins, presenter of the Great British Bake Off,  is supporting the campaign to save Deptford Cinema from closure.

The cinema, which was set up when there were no cinemas in Lewisham borough, was facing closure after the council tried to impose a business rates bill.

As the cinema is currently a Community Interest Company (CIC) rather than a charity, they are not entitled to the 80% reduction in business rates.

Perkins tweeted saying: "My dad's side of the family all came from round Lewisham so it's close to my heart. Help save Deptford Cinema xx"

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Volunteers at Deptford Cinema.

Volunteer at the cinema in Deptford Broadway Edwin Mingard, 31, said: “We exist to provide those things as cheaply as possible, it is a hard thing to do in London, and our tickets are £3.50 for locals or £5 for a normal ticket.

“We do this in our spare time around full time jobs because we care about our friends and neighbours.

“We want them to be able to see a film without leaving the borough or paying £10 or £15 to do so.”

He added: “Even charities do pay rates, we are not asking for special treatment we are asking for the same treatment.”

According to the latest update on the petition to save the cinema, which currently has more than 3,000 signatures, the 200 strong team of volunteers are currently in the process of changing the structure from a CIC to a charity.