Wartime building used by Balderton Scouts has been demolished by Nottinghamshire County Council

A pile of bricks is all that is left of a wartime building used for storage by a Scout group after a demolition team moved in.

The building on the edge of the grounds of Balderton Scout headquarters on Queen Street was knocked down by a company employed by Nottinghamshire County Council.

One of the group's leaders noticed the machinery on the site as she drove by and contacted other members of the team to ask what was happening.

Group Scout leader Mr Ian Hough said that nobody knew why the store had been demolished.

"I was horrified to find the building had been demolished and its contents just dumped on the field," he said.

Mr Hough said that a welfare cabin, a container store and a JCB digger had also been brought on to the site.

The next day representatives from the group were on the site early to stop any further work taking place.

Mr Hough said the contractors had agreed to go but since then the Scout group has been trying to discover why the building was demolished and are seeking compensation.

"I am thankful we managed to stop any further work or we may have found the Scout hall demolished," he said.

Mr Hough said they accepted the building was in need of some repair but it was usable and they were in the process of getting it repaired.

He said they were trying to get the matter resolved but it was frustrating that they were having to use money that would otherwise have been spent on activities for the Scout group.

A spokesman for the county council said the building was next to the highway and was assessed as being in a dangerous state of disrepair.

He said they had checked with the land registry and it was found the land where the building stood does not have a registered owner.

"Such was the poor state of the building a decision was taken to demolish it in the interests of public safety," he said.

"We have subsequently been contacted by a third party who is laying claim to the land and building and we are waiting for documentary evidence that this is the case."