Andrew Lloyd-Webber warned of Apollo theatre's 'shocking' condition 10 YEARS AGO and said it should have been be knocked down Lord Lloyd-Webber called for the playhouse to be replaced by new theatre Made comments in 2000 when he owned the Apollo Current owner said Grade II listed building, built in 1901, has 'suffered' from years of 'benign neglect' Composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber warned of the Apollo Theatre's 'shocking' condition 10 years ago, calling for the Grade II listed building to be torn down. Investigations are today continuing into why around 10 square metres of plaster plummeted on to the stalls below, injuring 80 members of the audience on Thursday. The owner of the West End venue claimed last year that he theatre had 'suffered years of benign neglect'. Composer and musical theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd-Webber, pictured on stage at the Apollo Theatre in 2002, said the playhouse was in a 'shocking' condition 10 years ago when he owned the theatre The owner of the Apollo Theatre, in Shaftsbury Avenue, said last year that the building had 'suffered from years of benign neglect' The seats were left covered in planks of wood and debris after the ceiling collapsed on to the audience during Thursday's performance of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time David Porter and his wife Valerie were injured as they watched the performance on Thursday Speaking to the Times in 2000, the then owner of the playhouse, which overlooks London's Shaftesbury Avenue, Mr Lloyd-Webber said a state-of-the-art new theatre should be built in its place. 'The Apollo in particular is a shocking place,' said Lord Lloyd-Webber, who sold it to Nimax in 2005. I suggested that both it and the Lyric should be knocked down and replaced by top-quality modern theatres. One of the lines of inquiry being considered is that excess water during a torrential downpour may have caused the collapse, after forecasters confirmed there was an abnormally high concentration of rain, hail and lightning in London on Thursday. Nica Burns, co-owner and chief executive of Nimax Theatres, which runs the the building in Shaftesbury Avenue, said in an interview last year that it had a budget of just Â£2.45 million to restore its five West End playhouses. Simon Stephens, the show playwright, wrote on Twitter: 'Thank you for your messages on this sad and strange night.' Witnesses described the rush for the exits after the accident, which many thought was part of the play That was funded by a Â£1 restoration levy on tickets at the theatres, which the company said was spent entirely on upkeep and maintenance work once VAT was paid. Speaking to Theatres Magazine, Ms Burns said: 'Before we could start on the improvements, we had to address the damp. Water attacks the building from above and below. The restoration work carried out included new Â£120,000 customer toilets and a makeover for four carved stone muses on the rooftop, she told the magazine. Musical theatre impresario Lord Lloyd-Webber complained that his plans for black-box auditorium inside the existing plasterwork had been opposed by English Heritage. When it listed the building in 1972, the public body cited the Apollo's 'richly ornamental shallow domed ceiling on pendentives' as one of its stand-out features. London Fire Brigade said eight fire engines had been sent to the scene. Around 700 people were thought to be in the theatre when the collapse occured Fire crews climbed on top of the building as part of the investigation into what went wrong More than 700 people were inside the Apollo - which was 45 minutes into the National Theatre's performance of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time - when members of the audience started screaming as it appeared parts of the ceiling caved in. Some of the injured were taken to hospital on board London buses as the emergency services dealt with the incident in the heart of the capital. Most were discharged shortly afterwards, having been mainly treated for cuts and bruises. Although performances at the Apollo have been cancelled until January 4, London mayor Boris Johnson said the West End was 'open for business'. Mr Johnson also praised the response from emergency services as 'exemplary', adding: 'Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre have assured me that all safety checks for the West End's historic theatres are up to date but, as a precaution, further checks have already started and will continue throughout the day.' The emergency services evacuated the building after the performance was cancelled Most of those who were injured were treated at the scene Another of those injured being treated by a paramedic before being transported to hospital A Scotland Yard spokesman said criminal involvement has been ruled out and the investigation into what happened would be handled by the council. Nicola Aiken, the council's cabinet member for community protection, said the theatre's health and safety checks were 'up to date'. 'Each historic theatre is unique and we have no reason to believe this is other than an isolated incident,' she said. 'We have confirmed today with the Society of London Theatre that all theatres' safety checks are up to date; however, as a precaution, all historic theatres are carrying out further safety checks today.' A woman stands bandaged and wearing a blanket from the emergency services in Central London Paramedics attend to an injured person at the scene