FED up neighbours have called for the former Bolton College Horwich campus to be demolished in a bid to curb anti-social behaviour.

Residents spoke of their frustration about the amount of young people who hang about at the derelict site after a "deliberate" fire ripped through the college's outbuilding at about 7.10pm on Monday.

The single-storey garage, which is located close to the boundary of Horwich Golf Club, caught fire after waste timber stored inside it was set alight.

The site has been empty since last summer when the college relocated to new town centre facilities, and controversial plans to build 140 homes on the land were passed last June.

Mum-of-four Lynne Greenhalgh, aged 51, who recently suffered a stroke, said: "There are always kids hanging about over there.

"It's not nice at all. It needs to go because it's a gathering point for anti-social behaviour.

"It can be quite intimidating for us to see them messing about.

"It's not just kids either — there are older men who sit and drink there too. It really puts my back up.

"The building is supposed to be demolished to make way for new houses but we haven't heard anything since it was approved.

"It's a shame they couldn't have put the building to better use though. There's nothing round here."

A fire service spokesman said Monday's blaze had been started deliberately.

Grandmother-of-seven Susan McKee, aged 62, said: "I watched that building go up back in the day so I will be very sad to see it go. But the longer it stays empty the worse it will get.

"It's a shame the building wasn't turned into a community centre for youngsters so they have somewhere to go. Kids only cause trouble when they have nothing to do."

Firefighters left the scene at 8pm after tackling the blaze.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the incident had been passed on to them by the fire service but was not currently being investigated.