SCHOOLBOY Leon Howe has vowed to continue his fight to save the Three Cups Hotel following his protest march and 24-hour vigil.

The 10-year-old led a procession through the streets of Lyme Regis in a bid to see the historic hotel converted back into the ‘marvel’ it once was.

Leon, of Silver Street, is among the campaigners in the town pressing hotel owner Palmers Brewery to abandon multi-million pound plans to turn the building into luxury flats, a top name restaurant and shops.

Protesters from the Save the Three Cups Group are also lobbying West Dorset District Council to compulsory purchase the Three Cups to ensure it remains as a hotel.

Leon and his supporters collected more than 1,400 signatures on Saturday during the march and the 24-hour vigil which followed.

Leon, a pupil at Mrs Ethelston’s Primary School, said: “I was very nervous before the march. But lots and lots of people came for the march and my friend Bobby was there to help me with the drumming.

“People really do want the Three Cups to stay a hotel. I think we showed Palmers how much we all care.”

But Palmers this week again ruled out its continued use as a hotel. Nigel Jones the brewery’s property agent at Humberts Commercial, said: “We won’t be applying to re-develop it as a hotel. The proposals, we think, are extremely exciting and according with planning policy.

“As the plans are at a very initial stage and no one has had the opportunity to consider the plans in detail, we think any opposition is a little premature.

“We hope that people will understand we are moving as fast as we can in this case.”

Although the march helped further raise the profile of the campaign, Leon is already planning another one when he hopes people will dress up as historical characters, given the famous names who have stayed at the hotel, including JRR Tolkien.

Leon is planning to dress as Charlie Chaplin. He said: “Next time, if all of the people who came to talk to us in the day come to our march, my friend Richard the policeman might need to stop the cars for us because next time there will be thousands of us.”

Mum Rikey, who owns Alice’s Bear Shop in Broad Street, said her son showed no sign of giving up the fight.

“He is only a 10-year-old boy and I have asked him if he is happy to hand the campaign over but he said ‘no way’,” she said.

Rikey, who organised the vigil, added: “It really is heartbreaking to think of the hundreds of years that it has been cared for, and the fabulous history that it has.

“It seems that the residents and visitors to Lyme feel almost entirely the same. We received almost 1,400 names on our petition that agree, many feeling extremely strongly about the reopening and saying that enough really is enough.”

Rikey said the petition would remain in her shop for people to sign and they would also be taking it door to door around Lyme, Uplyme and Charmouth.

n We have been asked by Palmers Brewery to point out that the picture of the Three Cups Hotel published in the June 18 edition of the News was an old photograph and did not reflect the current condition of the building.