A FORMER York pub is to be demolished after its owners claimed it was attracting crime and had become a safety risk.

No objections have been raised to an application by Moorside Developments Limited to knock down the Yearsley Grove in Huntington Road, which is now empty, after the firm asked for approval for the work “as a matter of urgency”.

Moorside had told City of York Council the building had been a regular target for cable thieves and intruders, despite steps being taken to keep people out of the site.

The pub was earmarked for refurbishment by Enterprise Inns in 2011, but closed afterwards.