AN ACCRINGTON property owner has been forced to pay £1,290 in fines and costs for allowing a house to fall into disrepair.

Mark R Brennan was prosecuted by Hyndburn council after neighbours complained about the state of the terraced home on Burnley Road.

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Council officers visited the property, empty since 2010, and found it had been broken into and vandalised, Hyndburn magistrates heard.

After hiring a locksmith to secure the building, officers traced Mr Brennan and wrote to him on several occasions asking him to repair it, Hyndburn Magistrates Court heard.

After he failed to act, the council served a notice requiring the roof to be repaired, new gutters to be fitted, new windows and doors and the removal of all waste materials in the yard areas.

Appearing at court on January 29, Mr Brennan was found guilty of failing to comply with the notice, fined £400 plus a £40 victim’s surcharge and ordered to pay £850 costs.

Housing boss Clare Cleary said: “We gave the owner ample opportunity to bring this property into a state of repair. Empty properties often cause a nuisance.”