'˜Deathtrap': Warning to kids to stay away from derelict Grange Park pub
Youngsters have been urged to stay out of the vandal-magnet Dinmore Pub on Grange Park by a leading firefighter following the ‘fourth or fifth’ call there.
The building, where 48-year-old Eugene Ferguson fell to his death in 2013, is set to be knocked down in the coming weeks.
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Hide AdWatch manager at Blackpool fire station, Andrew Jones, said: “The place is a deathtrap. The sooner it’s knocked down, the better.”
The pub’s owner – who remains unknown – was ordered to take action by the council after the eyesore building was consistently targeted by vandals. It is filled with broken glass, discarded needles dumped by drug users, and numerous gas canisters that could explode in any fires, Mr Jones said.
Coun Gillian Campbell, deputy leader at the town hall and the local councillor, described the site as a ‘haven for antisocial behaviour’ and said residents will be ‘more than happy to see the back of it’.
And Mr Jones said police have been left ‘banging their heads against the wall’ as children continue to break into the pub.
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Hide AdHe said: “There is a lot of fly-tipping and the kids seem to think it’s great fun to torch the rubbish. The police can’t be there 24/7.”
The latest fire at the pub, which has stood empty for more than four years and was sold at auction for £250,000 in 2014 after owner Calco Pubs went into administration, was just over a week ago when dumped rubbish was deliberately set alight.
Mr Jones said 999 calls there have to be treated extra seriously because of the danger somebody may be trapped inside. That means as many as three fire engines and crews could be needed – leaving cover across the rest of the resort short.
Resident Terry Bennett said: “Ever since it became empty there have been people getting inside it and stealing stuff. So demolition is long overdue and many residents will welcome it.”
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Hide AdNobody from Lancashire Police could be reached for a comment yesterday.
Chequered history of estate’s Dinmore Pub
In May, fire engines were called to an arson attack at the pub, which saw the road closed by police.
Firefighters were called to two smaller fires last June, and last March.
In November 2013, Eugene Ferguson was found dead inside the pub by an official who had gone inside to probe unusually high gas bills.
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Hide AdAn inquest later heard Mr Ferguson, who was wanted by police, was found in the cellar after getting into the building through a boarded up roof and likely falling down the stairs. A small amount of alcohol, as well as traces of cocaine, codeine, methadone, and diazepam, was found in his system.
The body of Mr Ferguson, who was born in Northern Ireland and lived in North Shore, had laid undiscovered for a number of weeks, the hearing was told.