A CHARITY boss has hit out at 'obnoxious' vandals who put people in danger by removing signs warning that a heritage site was temporarily out of order.

The Queen Elizabeth II Biological Heritage Site, just off Livesey Branch Road in Blackburn, was closed all last month after an insurance issue meant visitors would not have been covered if they had an accident.

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To warn people of the closure, heritage committee members put up signs and padlocked and chained entrance gates to stop people entering.

But vandals ripped down the signs and cut down the padlock and chains, meaning anybody who entered the site were unaware it was closed and would not have been covered in the event of injury.

And Brian White, chairman of the heritage committee, said the charity's secretary received abusive messages from angry people who were upset the site was closed.

Mr White revealed the site has now re-opened after the insurance issue was resolved and said he hoped the perpetrators of the vandalism would now realise the consequences their actions could have had.

Mr White, who has been chairman of the committee for around six years, said: "Four weeks ago the site committee had a problem with obtaining the right insurance. In the cause of health and safety, the site was closed to the public until the correct insurance could be found.

"Appropriate signs were posted giving a telephone number for people to ring and the entrances were put under lock and chained up. Quite a lot of malicious calls were made to the number along with rude and obnoxious messages left on the phone.

"The notices put up made it quite clear that persons would not be covered by insurance and that was the reason that the site was closed. Over the four weeks of closure the chains were cut off three times. It is hoped that the perpetrator of these acts realises that his/her actions placed visitors in danger as they would not have been covered by insurance.

"The site is now open and the public can be assured that the committee did not close it without a good reason.

"To the perpetrator, think twice before endangering the public."

Mr White said there had been an ongoing problem with dog foul being left on the site and warned owner's that it would not be tolerated.