NORTH-EAST rock star Mark Knopfler has expressed his sadness at the imminent demise of one of Britain's oldest and best-known funfairs.

Spanish City at Whitley Bay - one of the region's best-known attractions - could be facing the bulldozer.

Mark Knopfler immortalised the funfair in Tunnel of Love, the track recorded by his band Dire Straits.

Tomorrow, North Tyneside councillors will take a major step towards deciding the fate of the funfair, and the musician, who moved from Glasgow to Tyneside when he was a boy, said: "I'll be really sorry to see it go."

Speaking briefly in the middle of a promotional tour in Italy, the 51-year old added: "The Spanish City is something I will always associate with my days at Whitley Bay seaside as a child."

The fairground dates back to 1904 when Charles Edderton, the manager of the Theatre Royal at Hebburn, South Tyneside, began concert parties on the grassed area above the promenade.

Spanish City's popularity continued to grow through both world wars, before peaking in the 1960s and 70s when the resort was packed with tourists, particularly during Glasgow and Edinburgh fortnights, when Scottish families headed South for their annual holidays.

Today, the resort has fewer than 50 hotels and, even on sunny bank holidays, the funfair usually has just a handful of people perusing the stalls.

Two years ago, under pressure to breathe new life into the resort, North Tyneside Council commissioned a £50,000 survey from Liverpool firm Cass Associates.

Cass came back with ambitious plans for a £50m development, which would include demolishing the funfair and replacing it with a modern leisure centre, health club, theatre, bowling alley and restaurant, as well as the 120-bedroom hotel.

Councillors have spent the last few months negotiating to buy the site from Jersey-based Dobson Leisure, which has run the Spanish City for the last six years.