AN immediate survey is being carried out after crumbling walls were spotted during routine maintenance work on a town centre library.

The external walls on two parts of Blackburn Library have been found to be disintegrating by Blackburn with Darwen Council maintenance workers.

The beige coloured cladding which surrounds the 1930s building appears to be decaying on a section in Town Hall Street and Northgate.

The study of the building is expected to take place this week but the results of the full investigation will not be available until the early spring.

In the meantime the council will erect two 14-metre length sections of scaffolding around the problem areas.

Blackburn Library was the Co-op Emporium when it first opened and was used as a wedding venue.

Then in 1975 Blackburn library service moved into the town centre premises and the Prime Minister of the time, Harold Wilson carried out the officially opening.

Coun Michael Law-Riding, executive member for leisure and culture for Blackburn with Darwen Council said: "When we discovered crumbling on a small part of the external cladding we decided to look into what was needed to rectify the situation.

"The study is the first part of plans to repair the walls and we hope that the investigation will be completed by early spring.

"The work is being carried out as part of the council's maintenance programme."

Albert Branscombe, chairman of Blackburn Local History Society, said: "I am amazed and surprised that there is a problem with the walls.

"We hold regular monthly meetings in the library and we have not noticed anything.

"Buildings from the 1930s were made to last, the 1960s buildings were built to fall down in six months, but not the 1930s ones.

"If there is a serious problem it is good news that the council have acted on it as they discovered it."