Owner of Heckington Manor says demolishing building is only way to deter vandals

Psychiatrist Dr Mostafa Morsy has applied to North Kesteven District Council for permission to level the site off Cowgate, explaining the property has been on the market for 14 years and the intrusions, despite his best efforts to secure it, have led to its deterioration.

Over a year ago Dr Morsy warned he was struggling to safeguard it from vandals since its closure as an alcohol dependency clinic in 2002.

Dr Morsy said copper piping and the lead roof has been stripped by metal thieves, saying: “The police have been called to the property in excess of 50 times.”

And he said several prospective buyers and developers withdrew offers when enquiries to demolish the manor were met with disapproval, including an interested buyer last year.

Dr Morsy said: “Heckington Manor is not a listed building, has no architectural significance and is now derelict, beyond repair and not sellable. It is in fact so dilapidated that the ceilings of the top and middle floors are about to collapse due to water damage and so I feel that the building is fast becoming structurally dangerous.”

It was an orphanage in the 1950s and a care home in the 1960s until bought and renovated by Dr Morsy to become the Ferdowse Clinic in 1978.