A LUXURY housing development being built next door to a secure hospital unit treating arsonists and sex offenders is "one of our most successful ever", say the builders.

A spokesperson for national builder Alfred McAlpine told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph that most visitors to the site had been local and had expressed no concern about the proximity of the hospital, Calderstones in Mitton Lane, Whalley.

The secure hospital building can be seen over a wall and through trees from the approach road to the development site.

Anyone who is thinking of buying property there but who is concerned about the hospital is advised by sales staff at the site's marketing suite to contact the Calderstones NHS Trust, where a manager has been given the job of dealing with inquiries. When asked, sales staff advise would-be buyers that Calderstones is a secure hospital.

They are told by the NHS Trust that no resident poses a grave or immediate threat to the public.

More than 300 properties are being built at McAlpine's exclusive Calderstones Park development, on land previously occupied by several Calderstones wards for long-stay patients.

A spokesperson for the builders said that 27 properties have already been sold, since viewing of the first two showhouses began in January. Prices start at £134,950 for three-bedroom town houses and rise to £248,950 for five-bedroom detached properties. Apartments are about to go on the market, starting at £69,950. "It's one of the most successful developments we have had," the spokesperson added. "Visitor numbers have been excellent."

McAlpines' glossy brochure says Calderstones Park "is an exciting development which is set to transform the site of a former hospital into a truly delightful place to live."

On the site map, the area immediately next door to Calderstones Park is described as "land owned by NHS Trust."

Some of the residents of the Calderstones hospital medium-secure unit - known as West Drive - have been sent there by the courts after committing offences including arson, sexual crimes and manslaughter. All have learning difficulties.

Police are currently investigating an alleged sex attack last week on a female nurse at Calderstones. The alleged incident came six months after a patient appeared at Preston Crown Court to admit a sex attack on another female nurse at the hospital.

It was also revealed last week that another male patient at Calderstones, believed to be a convicted arsonist, was found with a cigarette lighter 40 minutes after giving staff the slip while on an escorted visit to Burnley General Hospital.