FIREFIGHTERS battled against high winds to remove a loose piece of metal roofing which could have killed someone if it had been ripped off.

Steve Roberts, leading firefighter at Blackburn, said three metal pieces were dangerously close to being ripped from an old foundry building in Manner Sutton Street, Blackburn, and could have plummeted from the building's roof at any time.

He said: "One piece was about 10ft long and was being held on by just a couple of rivets.

"We had to close the road because it was pretty gusty and if the sheet metal had come down the 50 or 60ft from the top of the building it would have been like a blade."

A building inspector from Blackburn with Darwen Council alerted emergency services to the incident at around 8pm on Saturday.

Firefighters, accompanied by the building inspector, used an aerial ladder to survey the situation and tools to safely remove the roof.