Boris Johnson has called on people to help save Wilton’s Music Hall.

It comes as members of the public have donated �25,000 to the Whitechapel venue since it lost its bid last week for �2.3m in Lottery funding.

The London mayor said: “Wilton’s is a unique part of our cultural heritage and one of London’s hidden gems which we must keep alive.

“The public response to the funding announcement has been fantastic and we have been speaking to them about what assistance we might be able to offer. We want more people to come forward to ensure Wilton’s will be around for a long time to come.”

See Thursday’s Advertiser for our Big Read feature on the future for Wilton’s Music Hall.