A CARAVAN which neighbours claimed was being used by teenagers in Darwen as a den for drinking, smoking and taking recreational substances has been towed away by the council.

Blackburn magistrates granted the council permission to remove the caravan from Queen Street after hearing what it was being used for.

They were told the caravan had been left in the street, causing an obstruction to road users.

Alan Fairhurst, prosecuting on behalf of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, also said it had been a source of great concern to local residents.

Mr Fairhurst said notice had been posted on the caravan that it had to be moved within 24 hours but it had remained in the same spot. He told magistrates: "That wasn't done so I am now here to seek an order to give the authority the right to remove the caravan."

The solicitor said that because the authority could not confirm that the owner had received notice of its intentions the caravan would be held in storage for a period of time to allow the owner to retrieve it and take it elsewhere.

Council staff organised for the caravan to be removed on Monday afternoon and residents living opposite the eyesore today said they were delighted to see it go.

A 29-year-old woman, from Queen Street, said: "Every time I walked past the caravan to my friends' house there were kids inside it bouncing around and causing a nuisance. I don't know what they were doing in there but I'm glad it has been removed.

"We do get kids behaving badly around here but we don't want them right outside our door."

Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals from the youths involved, said it was a relief to see the caravan go.

She added: "The caravan was a nuisance and the people using it were making a lot of noise. It seemed to just appear before Christmas and no-one knows whose it was."