COMMUNITY leaders in Littledean are calling for a derelict pub they brand a health hazard to be demolished.

The King's Head has been empty for about five years and now stands as a dangerous, boarded-up eyesore in one of the gateways to the Forest.

Owners of adjoining properties have reported their walls have become damp and are starting to buckle because the pub has been left with no roof tiles for several years.

Butcher Pete Smith, whose shop is part of the pub building, discovered that walls he had painted and tiled six months ago were blistering and swelling with damp.

"There is a fire on the other side of the wall and when the pub was open you could feel the heat coming through," he said.

See this week's Forester for full story