IT IS BEST known as a place for a stroll or summer events.

But Southampton's Hoglands Park is set to become an outdoor cinema this weekend with showings of two popular blockbusters over the course of this weekend.

Crowds of cinemagoers will flock to the city centre park today (Sat, July 25) to watch teen romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.

And tomorrow (Sun, July 26) the park will feature a showing of one of the 1980s' most popular films, the Tom Cruise action hit Top Gun.

The showings are the brainchild of new company Hijack Cinema, which was set up by Solent University graduate Elliot Bedford and local businessman Paul Gillies.

Mr Bedford said: "We see lots of outdoor cinemas in London and other areas and thought it was the perfect summer event, and so we wanted to bring a bit of that excitement from London to Southampton.

"The ethos is to hijack really interesting place and show films in them.

"The atmosphere is so much better than a normal cinema, it's not just the outdoor element but also the nostalgia because everybody has gone to watch the films before and they are going because they want to get a group of friends together and have a night out.

"You can bring a picnic basket and a bottle of wine and it's the perfect summer activity."

He said he hoped to hold future Hijack Cinema showings in Winchester and Romsey and other locations on the South Coast.

Tickets for the event cost £11.25 and must be booked in advance at http://www.hijackcinema.co.uk/ and printed out to present to the "box office" at Hoglands Park.

The films will not start until about 9pm although audiences are able to turn up after 8pm.

Anyone attending the showings is advised to take something warm to wear and a blanket or something similar to sit on.

They may be affected by wet weather, and anyone intending to turn up is advised to check Hijack Cinema's Twitter profile to check whether showings have been affected.

Daily Echo:

10 Things I Hate About You features a young Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew that was a smash hit when it was released in 1999.

Daily Echo:

Top Gun, which tells the story of Tom Cruise's airplane pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell as he attempts to graduate from the elite US fighter school, was a box office hit when it was released in 1986, becoming the highest grossing film of the year and remains a cult favourite.

There will be two more showings in Hoglands Park next month - teen comedy Mean Girls will be shown at 7pm on August 21 while Danny Boyle adventure The Beach will be shown the following day at 7pm.