A BUSINESS said it had been forced to move out of Darwen after repeated acts of vandalism.

Grounds maintenance contractors Greenfingers Landscape Ltd, based at Hall Moss Business Park in Bull Hill, has experienced two break-ins in the past month.

During the incidents, about £12,000 worth of gear such as chainsaws and hedge trimmers were taken and several vans were smashed up.

The firm said it was not the first time it had experienced a break-in as several have occurred in the last 15 years.

Scott O’Sullivan, contract manager, said he did not want to make the decision to move but he had been left with no choice.

He said: “We are extremely disappointed to be moving out of Darwen, which we have loved for over 15 years.

“But it is far too risky to stay there now, we have no choice but to relocate.

“The transfer will be difficult as we have about 45 staff to move over and it will affect our services, but I think this is the best move as the vandalism has gone up a lot recently.

“We have tried to improve security on several occasions, setting up live CCTV, but it just has not been successful and it’s very expensive to keep making changes like that.”

Lancashire Police said that unknown offenders gained access to the business on the night of July 4 using cutting instruments to force open fence panels before attempting to break into the building.

As the offenders struggled to get inside, they attempted to break into five vans instead and caused substantial damage to four Transit vans and a Mercedes Sprinter.

Just a couple of weeks before, police say that a similar incident occurred on the night of June 24, when a lot of gardening equipment was stolen such as a blowing machine, chainsaws and hedge cutters.

The family business, which is owned by the Higginbotham family and has about 240 staff across the country, is set to move to Feniscowles in the next week.

An additional site in Bolton Road, Chorley, has also been broken into in the past and had to close.

A police spokesman said: “These break-ins are still under investigation and have not been closed.”