Acclaimed tribute act The Bootleg Beatles has pleaded with Town Hall jobsworths to Let it Be after safety fears forced the cancellation of a rooftop concert in central London.

The Bootleg Beatles, were due to recreate the famous gig at noon tomorrow on a roof in Saville Row, marking 40 years to the minute since the Fab Four wowed Londoners from the top of the former Apple Records studios for their last ever live gig.

But the gig has been cancelled amid concerns the roof could cave in without a proper safety inspection or band members could fall over the edge without a safety rail.

Event organisers, the Express Group, pulled out of the concert after the safety hazards emerged during a meeting a fortnight ago with Westminster Council, police and fire services.

The Bootleg Beatles offered to stage the show themselves and were awarded a temporary entertainment licence.

But the council said the band would be responsible for any accidents inside the run down Apple Building, scuppering the show with the threat of a massive legal bill if anything went wrong.

"It's annoying that local council bureaucrats have stepped in to ruin an event which celebrates a landmark moment in British pop history," says Raj Patel, company manager for the Bootleg Beatles. "This is another example of the culture of health and safety paranoia which is preventing so many great events taking place across London - events we should be proud of and claiming as our own. It's disappointing because I know come Friday we'll all be watching recordings from tribute bands in New York on TV, when it should be from London."

The disused Saville Row studios has a blue plaque commemorating its major role in launching The Beatles into the pop stratosphere.

Westminster Council's Leith Penny, strategic director of city management, said: "We host hundreds of major events every year. We would have gladly helped to make this event happen had it not been for the serious concerns raised by the emergency services and our own experts about the state of the building, which sadly resulted in the sponsors pulling out."

Undeterred, Beatles fans are expected to congregate outside number 3 in large numbers to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the live performance.

Richard Porter, of the British Beatles Fan Club said he was surprised by the cancellation of the rooftop event.

"It's a real shame, and rather surprising. I find it rather strange as the Bootleg Beatles were played on the very same roof on the 30th anniversary."

Fans have been invited to bring an instrument for an impromptu singalong.