COMPANY bosses today revealed burglars had stopped targeting their premises -- after council officials finally moved objects which were giving them a leg up.

The owners of Wasp Roofing Supplies, in Weir Street, Blackburn, revealed in September that since they had moved into the former storage yard, burglars had been using an electricity box, a pay-and-display machine, and a parking sign, as a series of steps to climb to the top of the 18ft perimeter wall and gain access to the yard.

After police confirmed there had been three burglaries at the premises and that the means of entry had been the council's parking meter, the council moved one of the steps -- the electricity box -- five feet further away.

But co-owner Peter Barratt said that a parking sign situated alongside the outside wall of the yard still needed to be removed to prevent access to valuable building materials, and put a halt to a series of break-ins.

The council removed the pole two months after the original request was made and fixed the sign from it flat onto the wall.

Mr Barratt said: "It is obviously much better and we have had no further break-ins since the changes were eventually made.

"What we can't understand is why they didn't move the pole when they moved the electricity box -- it just didn't make sense.

"But then putting them there in the first place, at the lowest point of the wall, didn't make sense.

"It has taken them a few months but at least it is done now and hopefully it seems that it has ended our problems."

Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen council said: "Following an inspection by one of our engineers the sign was moved on November 10 as requested."