NEWPORT'S historic Lysaght's Institute is being "destroyed" piece by piece by thieves who are stealing thousands of pounds worth of roof tiles.

The historic landmark has been derelict for a number of years awaiting a planned development.

But in the last month the building, on the corner of Corporation Road and Spytty Road, has become a target for thieves who are slowly stripping the roof bare.

Police have been called to the building on at least eight occasions in the last month after reports of people stealing hundreds of slate tiles.

PC Andy Lewis, Maindee crime and disorder reduction officer, said: "We attend the location every time we get reports but the premises is in a very bad state and is quite dangerous to enter."

Local residents reported seeing men driving white vans and wearing flourescent jackets breaking into the site and using stacked-up rubbish and old furniture to climb onto the roofs.

The building is part of 20 acres of land purchased by George Wimpey Homes for a planned 'mixed-use' development including 450 homes.

They plan to find a commercial operator to use the Institute for a family pub or restaurant.

But the plan, like many others in the area, has stalled because the city council need to shore up flood defences on the River Usk to deal with the threat of a theoretical devastating flood every 1,000 years.

The Institute is currently owned by developers Chelverton Deeley Freed, who have a contract to sell it to Wimpey if their plans are approved.

Director Paddy Fox said: "The building is being destroyed and we can't do anything about it."

Mr Fox said Chelverton cannot afford the £1,000-a-day cost of round-the-clock security guards while the development plans are in limbo.

Security fences and gates are put up but torn down within days, he said.

"No matter what security we put there they still break in.

"It is extremely frustrating. We are losing thousands of pounds a day in the deterioration of the building. There's absolutely nothing we can do until this flood issue is sorted out."

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CAMPAIGNING TO SAVE AND RESTORE THE BUILDING Lliswerry councillors Ken Critchley and Allan Morris are campaigning to save and restore the building for public use.

Councillor Morris said: "We have been very concerned about this building for some time. It's a tragic waste of a quality iconic Newport building, and to see it being destroyed by thieves is heartbreaking."

A council spokesman said Wimpey's plans for the area are being treated as a "priority application", and it is hoped the flood defences will be sorted out as soon as possible.

* The Institute was opened in 1928 as a social hub for steelworkers by the Lysaght family who arrived in Newport in the Edwardian age to open the huge Orb Steelworks