THE owners of a dangerous building have been urged to step forward and take action after part of it fell and damaged a car.

Franky’s Bar in Church Street, Darwen, has become a derelict eyesore after being ravaged by a fire two years ago.

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And this weekend, part of the building collapsed on to the road below, causing damage to a vehicle.

Workmen from Blackburn with Darwen Council have carried out works to make the building safe in a bid to prevent it happening again.

But council bosses said the ultimate responsibility for looking after the building and keeping it from falling down was that of the building owners.

Sunnyhurst Coun Dave Smith said: “Now we are having to put up scaffolding and make it safe and they will have to put a charge on that.

“It was lucky it was not someone walking past that was hit.

“It is a complete eyesore and it is dangerous and the owners can’t just walk away. It is their responsibility.”

Coun Maureen Bateson, executive member for regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “In the absence of a contactable owner, we had to undertake emergency works at the weekend to make this dangerous building and surrounding area safe.

“These measures have been carried out with the safety of residents and businesses paramount.

“We have been making enquiries to locate the owner to ensure that this building and its future use is dealt with once and for all.”

More than 40 firefighters were called to the blaze at the bar, formerly Central Conservative Club, in November 2012, after it was set alight in a suspected arson attack.

The Lancashire Telegraph understands the building was bought by a Hong Kong-based businessman called Mr Pang earlier this year, although Land Registry documents still list the owners as being Darwen Central Building LLP.

It is believed Mr Pang and his representatives plan to visit the site in January, but officers at Blackburn with Darwen Council are trying to encourage him to bring that forward in a bid to have the site tidied up sooner rather than later.