AFTER the final credits of The Lord of the Rings have rolled, staff at a North-East cinema will say their goodbyes, switch off the lights, and leave the building.

Their subdued departure will be in marked contrast to when Durham's Robins Cinema opened as The Regal in 1934.

Then, a fanfare of trumpets and a blaze of lights made way for a dazzling display on the Christie organ, thought to be the height of luxury for a small cinema.

But now, after a 2,000-signature petition failed to save it, staff and the city's residents are resigned to their loss.

The cinema's lease has been transferred to Regent Inns, which is to convert it into a Walkabout Australian theme pub, leaving Durham with only a large-screen cinema at the Gala Theatre, which does not show mainstream films.

Brenda Ryder, manager of The Robins, said that despite knowing of the closure for months, the staff were devastated.

"Even though we knew it was going to happen, everyone is really emotional," she said.

"We keep having outbreaks of tears and everyone is just really sad."

While the closure may seem final, it is not the first time the cinema has shut, only to be reopened under new ownership.

After being closed by Cannon in 1990, it was bought by its present owner, Troveworth, for £500,000.

The firm spent £250,000 on alterations and obtained funding for a fourth screen, before reopening the cinema in 1991.

But the threat of a multiplex cinema on the Walkergate site - which failed to come to fruition - and the declining state of the building, ultimately proved its downfall.

David Williams, a former Durham University lecturer in film studies and author of the soon-to-be-published Cinema in a Cathedral City 1896-2003, said: "The Robins was a good local cinema and it was well run.

"Not having a cinema in a place where entertainment needs to be local is a mistake."

Even now, a faint glimmer of hope remains, with the prospect that The Robins could take over the former Palladium building, in Claypath.

But Ms Ryder was cautious in her optimism.

"It would be great if it did happen, but as far as I am aware, a cinema is just one of a number of options that the owners are looking into," she said.