ARSONISTS set fire to piles of rubbish in a derelict factory - less than a week after a similar blaze in the building.

Firefighters were called to tackle a fire in the old Delfords factory building, in Main Road, Dovercourt, at 8.35pm on Wednesday.

Two fire engines were on the scene and used one hose to extinguish the flames by 9.09pm.

A spokesman for Essex Police said the fire service had alerted them of the fire, but it was not currently being investigated by police.

Crews tackled a similar blaze in the building on Friday April 8 at 10.20pm, with firefighters extinguishing a small rubbish fire.

Residents in the nearby Dockfield Avenue want the building to be demolished or made more secure after years of problems, including children getting on the roof and smashing windows.

Chris Dommett, of Dockfield Avenue, said she wished the fire had burned the building to the ground.

“My son lives up the road and he rang me and said there’s been another fire at the factory,” said Chris.

“I said hopefully it burns it down.

“They’ve been in there over the weekend smashing glass on to the footpath.

She added: “Kids are getting up on the roof and taking selfies. How long is it going to be before someone gets seriously hurt?

“If the building was a pile of rubble it would be better than the current situation.”

Tesco was in talks with the landowner over opening a supermarket at the site in 2010 but withdrew its interest three years later.

The site is owned by Scott Properties, which plans to submit an application for 70 homes on the land.

A spokesman for Scott Properties said: “We were down there again on Monday blocking everything off and making everything secure.

“People are actually cutting through fences with tools now to get in – what can we do?

“As soon as we leave we hear about it being broken into again.

“It’s criminal damage and until prosecutions are made, it will keep happening."

He added: “We are within a month or two of submitting an application for homes and if we get permission we can sort this out for good.

“It is a headache for us and the neighbours.”