CHILDREN are dicing with death by playing on the roof of a derelict building, a Blackpool councillor warns.

Councillor Joan Greenhalgh is calling for an office block on Cherry Tree Road North to be made secure after a neighbour saw a boy being dangled out of a third-floor window by his feet.

Windows have been smashed and doors broken down. Coun Greenhalgh, who represents Clifton ward, said children as young as five were entering the old Evening Gazette offices, pictured, which have been empty for more than two years.

She said: "It's just a matter of time before someone is killed. Fire engines and police are turning up all the time because the children set off the alarms. They are playing on the roof and I have seen them punching panes of glass through with their bare hands," she said.

Another neighbour, Ann Bates, who has two children, said things had now got out of control. "It is looking a right mess. My children used to play football in the car park, but now all the windows have been smashed and young children hang around the place they no longer play there," she said. "Something needs to be done before someone is hurt or killed." Coun Greenhalgh said she was so concerned about the children's safety she had been checking on the property every day. "My first concern is for the children and this property needs to be made secure. I have been talking with the police and the council. I am also concerned that groups of under-age youths use the building as a meeting place where they drink alcohol."

PC Tony Bradley, from South Shore station, said numerous calls from residents had been made. "I have been in the building and there has been a lot of damage. There is glass everywhere. Children are using it as a meeting place and as a den," he said.

The old offices look set to stay in their present condition for the time being as plans for a drive-through Kentucky Fried Chicken diner, a Pizza Hut restaurant and a video shop were recently refused. Developers City Park Realty are set to appeal.

A spokesman for United News and Media plc, which owns the building, said they had already boarded up windows and were in the process of securing the entire first floor.