1:41pm Friday 10th July 2009
By Emma Cruces
RESIDENTS in a Blackburn street are still having to live facing piles of debris from a burnt-out house five weeks after the fire.
The former family home, in Havelock Close, was gutted and left without a roof early last month.
More than five weeks on, it remains an eyesore with piles of burnt rubbish surrounding it.
Residents say that fly-tippers have added more rubbish to the piles and that they are living with an eyesore and a health hazard.
Many of the neighbours say they have had to stop their children from playing outside near the rubble.
Andrea Shafi, 38, said: “I won’t let my little girl go outside and the neighbours are the same with their kids.
“This is the perfect street for kids to play in most of the time, but until that lot gets cleared up, it’s not safe.
“It’s terrible. I can’t even have the windows open when it’s nice and sunny because black dust was coming in and settling on the ledges.
"It makes the street look really scummy.”
Marie Willace, 57, said: “It’s going to get infested with something.
"All the burnt fabrics and furnishings are just going to rot in this damp humid weather.
"We just can’t understand why it hasn’t been cleared up yet.
"It’s an eyesore. It’s unsafe and it needs sorting out.”
Neighbour Adele Butler said: “It’s bad for the children in the street and it’s attracting other kids here who are rooting around, which is a worry.
"You have to keep an eye out.
“It shouldn’t be an issue, I’ve never heard of this happening before.”
Resident Brian Chambers added: “I don’t know what the hold-up is, all that’s needed is a skip.”
The blaze early last month left tenant Marie Outlaw, 31, searching for somewhere else to live with her seven-year-old son after losing all her possessions, including treasured mementoes of her dead son.
It is thought the property is owned by a private landlord, who is currently out of the country.
Peter Hunt, director of regeneration and environment at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “It has been a stressful time for the landlord and tenant.
"The debris resulting from the fire is an eyesore for the residents which is ultimately the landlord’s responsibility.
"We are working with the landlord and hope the situation will soon be resolved.”
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