FOR Sale notices are going up on Chatham's Theatre Royal after the charity that was trying to restore it finally admitted defeat.

Members of the Theatre Royal Trust have worked for nearly 20 years to try to get the ruined theatre restored to public use.

Leading stars of stage, film and broadcasting have backed their efforts. But now a press statement issued through Harrisons Chartered Surveyors announced the battle was over. It said: "The Theatre Royal Trust has reluctantly come to the decision that it has no alternative but to place the Theatre Royal on the property market."

Talks are going on with Medway Council, who own a small part of the building in Chatham High Street, about how the property can be sold.

It is a Grade II listed building and could be used for housing or as a commercial development.

Trust chairman Ken Tappenden said: "The trust has had to reluctantly accept that we have been unable to achieve the necessary financial support for the project."