A TV star is backing a bid to save a doomed shopping centre from demolition - claiming council bosses are “ripping the heart out of the town”.

Tom Burke - star of BBC crime drama Strike - is calling on Ashford Borough Council (ABC) to reverse its decision to flatten Park Mall shopping centre.

The site is set to make way for an interim surface-level car park early next year, while plans to build flats on the land remain in the pipeline.

But Mr Burke, who has also starred in The Musketeers and War and Peace, says it makes “total sense” for businesses still in the centre to stay put.

He is helping promote a petition signed by almost 3,500 people calling for the site to be saved.

The 43-year-old, who lives near Ashford, says he regularly shops at the centre and remembers when it opened in 1987.

“I’d come here and then go to the former cattle market [in Elwick Road] to get bacon pastries,” he said.

“Park Mall has just always felt like the centre of the town and the longer it’s been here the more it’s felt like that.

“So to rip out the heart of the town sets a dangerous precedent, especially as you can’t create personality.”

Mr Burke, who attended Friars Prep School in Great Chart, became involved in the campaign after meeting Matt Abercrombie, owner of the Vapeology store in Park Mall.

“I think it’s always been the sunnier bit of town with a good energy to it, which I don’t think the high street has had in a sustained way,” he added.

“There seems to be opaque communication and a lack of knowledge of the enormous personal and financial resources owners here have put in.

“There are some parts which need to go as they have lost structural integrity, but it just makes total sense for the shops to stay.”

Mr Burke joined Mr Abercrombie outside International House - ABC’s base - on Thursday afternoon.

That was ahead of an ABC cabinet meeting that night in the neighbouring Civic Centre where the petition was presented by David Hebditch - an investor in Baby Arts Studios, which is based in Park Mall.

The campaign has been backed by more than 1,200 people online, while other residents have shown their support in writing.

Petition organisers say ABC should retain parts of the centre that are still in good condition, and are calling on the authority to discuss their campaign at a full council meeting.

ABC, which is run by an Ashford Independents/Green Party coalition, has long held ambitions to flatten Park Mall, blaming a declining retail sector, the loss of anchor tenants such as Wilko and escalating maintenance costs.

It initially told tenants they needed to be out by the end of August, but extended that until January 9 following a huge backlash.

The centre is currently home to about 20 businesses.

ABC recently acquired the freehold for Park Mall, but has owned the leasehold since 2015.

It says it has sought to support traders in that time.

In a statement, council leader Cllr Noel Ovenden (Ash Ind) said the centre is “failing despite our best efforts”.

“Dwindling footfall and structural decline have forced our hand and hard decisions are necessary to halt the drain on our limited resources,” he said.

“With the burden to local taxpayers reaching the colossal sum of more than half-a-million pounds a year, the people of Ashford can no longer afford to continue propping up a shopping centre which has sadly reached the end of its useful life.

“The council is absolutely engaging with Park Mall tenants – directly and regularly…”

“Continuing to support this venture could endanger vital public services and we have a responsibility to spend your money wisely.

“As I said in November last year, plans for the full regeneration of the area are still some way off but a short-term solution had to be found to reduce costs and ease the strain on the public purse.

“Having identified that the largest costs were to be found in business rates and essential day to day maintenance of the crumbling buildings our options were limited.

“By knocking down the centre and replacing it with an interim car park, it means the residents of Ashford no longer have this financial burden.

“Since 2015 Park Mall has been key to driving the revitalisation of our town centre and we are already seeking potential development partners to examine the opportunities for the exciting future of the site.

As part of ABC’s plans, the former Park Mall car park and neighbouring Edinburgh Road multi-storey are also due to be flattened.

Cllr Ovenden added: “I take the allegations very seriously that suggest the council is not in discussions with Park Mall traders or are ignoring or not supporting them.

“The council is absolutely engaging with Park Mall tenants – directly and regularly.

“We’ve been offering a wide range of practical support to help them relocate.

“What we are not doing is engaging with individuals who claim to speak for tenants but have no current link to the centre.

“Our focus remains on supporting the businesses that are actually based there.”

A spokesman confirmed the petition was presented to cabinet on Thursday night, adding: “Officers will now assess it to check it complies with our petition scheme, including the need for verifiable details of signatories.”