A CHARITY will be forced to scrap its family film screenings after council bosses increased the rent for its venue.

Reels On Wheels said about £60,000 of cinema equipment would now have to be removed from the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.

Thousands of families have used the service, which runs at the Forum Theatre in school holidays.

But now Stoke-on-Trent City Council has cancelled the profit sharing agreement which allowed the charity to use the facilities.

Instead, the authority is demanding £90 for a morning or afternoon session – £180 per day.

The charity said the fee is too high for it to continue showing films.

Reels On Wheels founder Robert Johnson, pictured, added: "People are ringing up to find out what film we are showing at the half-term holidays. The answer is, we won't be able to show any.

"To be honest we don't make much profit and what we do tends to go towards equipment."

And Mr Johnson is unsure about finding another suitable venue.

He said: "I don't know where we are going to go, because town halls tend to be too expensive to rent.

"But we are going to have to rip out the cinema screen at the Forum Theatre, which is a shame. It has only been there 12 months.

"We got a lottery grant for £10,000 and we put in £15,000 ourselves.

"But including the Dolby sound processor and the speakers, it all adds up to about £60,000 worth of equipment which will have to come out."

Reels On Wheels was founded in 1977 after several cinemas closed.

Showings at the Hanley venue were £3 a ticket – more than £2.50 cheaper than most commercial cinemas.

Over the Easter holidays, about 3,000 people saw Nanny McPhee.

Mother-of-two Lyn Stevenson, aged 40, of Meir Park, said: "It's a shame. It's a good service.

"And it is a good day out at the Potteries Museum. There are lot of activities as well."

Sue Bourne, aged 64, of Weston Coyney, said: "It is going to be quite sad. It is a fixture that people look forward to."

Keith Bloor, Stoke-on-Trent museums strategic manager, said: "Under our current arrangement with Reels On Wheels, they don't pay a hire fee for the theatre but should pay a 50 per cent share of the profits.

"However, we have not received any payment at all for at least the past three years.

"The council incurs costs in running the museum and the Forum Theatre and we must recoup some of those costs in a way that is fair to all users.

"We have offered them a charity rate discount and a block booking discount and we hope we can reach an agreement."