The neighbours of a derelict school that went up in flames have spoken out about how the building has become a target for constant anti-social behaviour.
People living around West Derby's Margaret Beavan school on Almonds Green say they have been subject to years of daily disruption and anti-social behaviour centred around the
derelict building, which caught fire last Friday. The building, which once served students with special education needs has been empty since its closure on Tuesday, August 31 2004.
Neighbours say the derelict school is now just a wrecking grounds for anti-social youths.
READ MORE: People 'seen running' from derelict school moments before devastating fire
Nancy, 83, who lives on Almonds Green, said it was "soul-destroying" to watch the old building, where she was once employed, crumbling over time. Yet, according to her and her neighbours it isn't crumbling due to age but due to misuse, constant fires and anti-social behaviour.
She told the ECHO: "We're persecuted, absolutely persecuted by these children. It's everyday: every single day.
"We've had more than a few fires. And last year they broke every window. It's sad, so sad to see what's become of the building. It's soul-destroying."
It was previously reported two people were seen running from the scene of the fire 30 minutes before emergency crews arrived. Nancy said she saw up to 10 youths, "five girls" and "five boys", attempting to enter the site the afternoon of the fire.
She said: "We haven't got any children around here because we're all older and we've all got grown up children. They come from different areas and even come from school with their bags and get over the fence."
Margaret, 86, another of the building's neighbours, said she often sees young people climbing the walls surrounding the building.
She said: "Sometimes I'm up in the early hours of the morning chasing them, and you can't do that when you're 85 or 86. It's everyday, every evening. There's boys and there's girls".
Another neighbour, Richard Williams, 68, used to be the school's groundskeeper. Richard, who lives next to the school with his wife Helena, 72, said fires have been a common occurrence since the school closed, with two minor fires even lit last week before the building went up in flames.
Richard said it was "absolutely awful" to see the grounds he once kept now trashed and derelict. He said: "Everyone has been saying for years that it's going to go on fire".
Richard was bowling last Friday when smoke from the school began to fill the sky. He said. "One of the lads who lives around here said to me 'your school's on fire again'.
"He said there was smoke coming from the chimneys, so I just thought here we go again. Then when we came back the whole thing looked like something out of the blitz".
The cause of the fire on Friday, July 1 is still unknown.
Officers from Liverpool Council attended the scene today for a follow-up inspection of the building's structural integrity. They reported that "no action was required".
READ NEXT:
