AN investigation has been launched into a blaze which raged for three hours last night in a derelict pub.

Twenty firefighters and police attended the fire at the old Three Pigeons, Oakenhurst Road, at 7.40pm, and the blaze is being treated as deliberate.

Councillors from the area applied last week to Blackburn with Darwen council health and safety teams to make the site safe. Today they called for action and branded the site a "mess."

A thirteen-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the fire and later released without charge.

The first floor and roof of the pub were destroyed in the fire and flames were billowing from windows when crews arrived. Station officer Aden Fortune said: "The fire had taken hold of the first floor and spread to the eaves. We are treating the fire as suspicious and deliberate."

Today, Blackburn with Darwen councillor for Wensley Fold, Kate Hollern, demanded the owner make the site secure. She said: "The police are dealing with this shocking crime. We have been trying to get an enforcement against the owner to make it safe as it is a mess."

Inspector Peter Zsigmond said: "The fire is being treated as a crime. It is the age old problem of derelict buildings."