Ringo Starr's first home to be bulldozed

The campaign to keep the ex-Beatle's first home standing appears to be over.

Number 9 Madryn Street, in Dingle, Liverpool, is set to be demolished under a housing regeneration scheme.

The owners say it has little historic value and no interest from tourists to the city.

However, a nearby home where Starr lived for the subsequent 20 years of his life has escaped destruction.

Residents of the area, known locally as the Welsh Streets, have long campaigned to stop the demolition scheme.

They say the two and three bedroom terraces are ideal starter homes for young people looking to get on to the property ladder.

Local resident Nina Edge said: "Ringo's house is more than a visitor attraction, it's a great little house plenty of people would be glad to live in."

The childhood homes of John Lennon - Mendips, at 251 Menlove Avenue, and Sir Paul McCartney - 20 Forthlin Road, are popular tourist attractions run by the National Trust.

George Harrison's Arnold Grove home is a private house and the Cavern Club was demolished in the 1970s.

Fellow Welsh Streets resident and Beatles fanatic Piers Elton branded regeneration chiefs "short-sighted" for their decision. "It would be perfectly possible to keep this house and demolish the properties around it," he added.

"This house is a reminder of the world which spawned the Beatles."