A BLAZE at Seaford Court has led to a call for the immediate demolition of the historic building.

Firefighters were called to the former school on Worcester Road at around 11.30pm on Tuesday and spent four hours putting out the fire.

Sub Officer Chris George, of Malvern Station, said he thought it had been burning for about an hour before they got the call.

"When we first turned up there was a significant fire, it was burning right up through the building which we could see as we approached," he said.

Sub Officer George said the firefighters, from Malvern and Worcester, did not enter the derelict building for fear it would collapse, but fought the fire from the outskirts.

Police investigating the fire are treating it as suspicious. Sub Officer George recommended the building is demolished as soon as possible.

"There's a real potential now for collapse. It's got to the stage where I doubt it could ever be repaired and for public safety the best thing would be for it to be brought down," he said.

Seaford Court is owned by the NHS and is planned as the site for the new Malvern Hospital, but has been allowed to fall into disrepair and has been unsafe for several years.

Mike Ridley, chief executive of South Worcester-shire Primary Care Trust said: "Clearly there are one or two little things that we need to clear with the appropriate authorities, but certainly it would be my wish to demolish it as quickly as possible."

Mr Ridley added that the situation would not delay plans for the hospital.

The news of Seaford Court's demolition may come as a shock to some local residents, who during the early 1990's launched a campaign to preserve the building when plans for the hospital were first revealed. The NHS had said it hoped to retain the frontage in a new hospital but its current state means this is now impossible.