A concerned resident is pleading for vermin problems and overgrown grass to be tackled on the former Sekers site in Whitehaven.

Joan Spurr, of nearby Queens Close, has described the disused area as as an "utter disgrace".

It follows numerous concerns about the site, at Hensingham, which is owned by Nottingham-based company Pathfinding Commercial Ltd.

Mrs Spurr is calling on Copeland and Whitehaven Town councils to help to tackle the area.

She said: "I hope the council will be able to clear it and pass the bill on to the company who owns the land."

She says there has been a host of problems on the disused area.

"We have been troubled by rats and mice. I know there are field mice coming down from the site. The grass is just so long," she said.

"It's just the unsightliness of it. They have put fencing around and some of it has been knocked down. What concerns me is if someone falls. Someone has to take responsibility."

She has also raised concerns about people wandering onto the unused site.

Issues have been highlighted to Whitehaven Town Council and Copeland Council.

Les Abrahams, town council clerk, said Copeland has asked the town council to cut the long grass on the site.

He said once Copeland sends a quotation, the work can be authorised to go ahead.

The site, at Hensingham, has become an eyesore since the former fabrics factory closed in 2006. It was demolished in 2010.

Pathfinding Commercial Ltd won planning permission at the time to build a £6million 58-bed care home and housing on the Hensingham site, but the work was never carried out.

Concerns were raised Whitehaven Town Council earlier this year about the condition of the prominent site, with seagulls and vermin said to be a problem.