‘Demolish or secure former Thornhill College site’

Colr. Dobbins made the call as she warned that the youths involved in the arson incidents were risking falling 15 to 20 feet with potentially disastrous consequences.

The buildings off the Culmore Road have repeatedly targeted by vandals over recent years.

Speaking as fire-fighters dealt with the fire on Tuesday night, Colr. Dobbins said: “I attended the scene tonight where firefighters had to extinguish a fire on a roof of the old Thornhill school.

“This was the second night in a row this has occurred. The PSNI had increased their patrols of the area following last nights fire and have given assurances that they will continue to do so in coming days.

“The youths involved are putting their lives and the lives of their friends in extreme danger. The roof of these derelict buildings are so unsafe now that if they were to collapse it would result 15-20 foot drop with severe consequences.

“I will be contacting the developer of the new retirement complex to either demolish the buildings or erect a perimeter fence as a deterrent for trespassers restricting access so that these incidents can be contained before someone gets badly hurt or worse.”