ROCKY has come out fighting to save the North-East's most famous concrete eyesore from demolition.

Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone, who starred in the Rambo and Rocky movies, is now appearing in a remake of the classic gangster film, Get Carter, shot in 1971.

Now Sly has waded into the row over the demolition of the Gateshead multi-storey car park, the grim backdrop to the original film, which is now awaiting the bulldozers.

The 54-year-old action hero star of Demolition Man has made a personal plea to redevelopment bosses at the Gateshead Town Centre regeneration Company to reconsider their plans to pull down the car park.

In a Film 2000 interview with Jonathan Ross, broadcast last night, Stallone said: "The car park used in the film was a classic moment to Get Carter. Please don't pull it down."

A spokesman for the programme said: "We told Sylvester Stallone that the car park was to be pulled down.

"He had not been aware of this so, when asked if he wanted to send a message to the powers that be of course he was happy to do so."

Nigel Goodall, managing director of Gateshead Town Centre Regeneration Company, said: It is generally agreed that the existing shopping centre and car park are past their sell-by date and need radical improvement."

Chris Riley, 42, of the Get Carter Appreciation Society, said: "If the developers won't listen to the Demolition Man, I don't know who they will listen to.

"The car park is a very important landmark. It is a classic 1960s design and part of the history of the area."

The Trinity Square multi-storey is to be demolished to make way for a new supermarket.

In the film's remake, the role of Carter has been changed from a London gangster to a New York loan shark with Stallone paid a reputed $17.5m for his part