A DERELICT garage which has blighted an area and acted as a ‘magnet for fly-tippers’ for eight years will be knocked down after a long battle.

The detached shed, which is located on the back of Brownhill Avenue in Brunshaw, Burnley, is stuffed to the brim with food waste and household rubbish and has been a bone of contention for both residents and councillors for years.

The walls have been vandalised with graffiti, wooden panels to deter fly-tippers from entering have been ripped away and waste including dustbins has been dumped inside.

But now the council is set to take action and hope to shortly knock down the building after receiving permission to do so.

Councillor Lian Pate, who was first contacted about the garage in 2011, said it has taken eight years to track down its owners and get permission to knock it down.

She said: “It is always a mess and I feel sorry for the people who live around here and have to live with it.

“When I was first told about it, we struggled to find out who owned it but we then found out the company who owned the land had gone into administration, making it really difficult to get a hold of anybody from the company.

“Recently the council has discovered that the land has gone back into the ownership of the Crown and this means we can start to take real action.”

The Labour Party has now pledged to pay to have the garaged knocked down with the help of the Calico Group, which will contribute £250.

Councillor for Brunshaw Mark Townsend said: “This garage has been in problem in this area for many years and it has become a magnet for dumping.

“But we are now delighted that we have managed to sort out who owns it and we have the permission to knock it down.

“Let’s hope people who have been disrespectful take notice and dispose of their rubbish correctly.”