DERELICT factory buildings in Worcester have become a haven for arsonists and vandals, with three break-ins and fires in four days this month alone.

The buildings, in Brickfields Road, Warndon, have been plagued with vandals since the last business left three years ago, but people living nearby say problems have increased recently.

Earlier this month vandals ripped a hole in a factory roof before getting inside to smash rooms and light a fire.

They returned twice more, prising off security shutters in broad daylight.

The buildings have been earmarked for a 100-home development. The planned £10m scheme would include one, two, three and four-bedroom homes, as well as new offices.

But planning difficulties mean it could be months before any decision is made on whether applicant Nexus Housing Association can be granted change of use for the land.

Now the association, along with local people, is becoming increasingly worried that the area will continue to be a magnet for young hooligans.

Liz Staveley, director of Worcester-based Nexus, said youngsters were endangering themselves and nearby properties.

"This industrial site has been offered for four years with little interest and is increasingly being targeted by vandals.

"The scheme proposed by us would meet a proven demand for affordable housing and continue to offer job opportunities."

Neighbours have also expressed their despair at the vandalism and their support for the proposed development. Keith Beck, of Saddlers Walk, said: "I think it would improve the

area completely and would solve the problems of anti-social behaviour and vandalism on the site."

Joanne Higgins, who lives on Brickfields Road right next to the derelict site, said: "Houses would be a positive use for the land and would stop some of the problems there at the moment."

The planning application by Nexus was initially submitted to Worcester City Council on August 18 - the day of a previous burglary.

A drop-in session held a few days later to show local residents exactly what was planned was well-attended. Further detail was subsequently added to the documentation and it is now being considered by the authority.

A spokesman for Worcester police said enquiries into reports of vandalism were ongoing.