DEMOLITION work has begun on an abandoned town centre nightclub -- but mystery surrounds want is to happen to the site.

Fire bosses today welcomed news that bulldozers had arrived at the Millennium nightclub, saying it would rid Blackburn town centre of a major arson problem.

And the man in charge of spearheading regeneration of the town called on the landowners to make sure the site, on Cicely Lane, opposite Morrisons, is put to good use.

The club, which had several names and revamps in between opening in 1989 and closing in 1999, was owned by Northern Leisure, which also owns The Ironworks in Burnley and Tokyo Jo's in Preston.

Since the club -- which was previously called Manhattan Heights, Club Euro and Northern Lights -- closed, vandals have regularly broken in and set fire to it.

Club owners, Luminar Leisure, today said they sold the site to supermarket firm Lidl more than a year ago after the store chain received planning permission to build a store.

But since planning permission was granted, Lidl has also received planning permission for another site near Whalley Banks.

Unlike the first planning application, the Whalley Banks building does not include a condition that thousands of pounds worth of road improvements are made to to nearby streets to compensate for the extra traffic.

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council's planning department confirmed planning permission was still in effect for both sites, saying as far as the council was aware, Lidl owned the land in Cicely Lane.

A spokesman for Lidl, however, refused to comment on who owned the land or which site they intended to develop, saying it was 'company policy not to.'

Station officer Aidan Fortune, of Blackburn Fire Station, said: "We are very pleased that this building is being demolished.

"It hasn't caused us so many problems lately, but there was a big fire there last August. Because of the number of fires there, it has become very dangerous.

"One potential problem was that, because it had several exits, there was a risk that a fire could be started at one end by one group, trapping another group at the other end.

"It was a dangerous building for us to attend too. It is good news that it is being pulled down."

Coun Ashley Whalley, executive member for regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "This is an important town centre site and it is good news that the eyesore building is being pulled down.

"It is a piece of prime town centre land and I hope a suitable use will be found for it."

Building can take place on the site only if Lidl decides to build the store it has planning permission for. Any other development must first be approved by councillors.

Lidl already has a string of shops in Lancashire, including in Nelson, Accrington and Leyland.