The owner of a controversial former Sidmouth stationery shop has said its appearance concerns him ‘greatly’ but he is unable to act any faster.

Ron Endean owns SES in High Street, a property which currently has barriers erected around it after glass threatened to fall on passersby.

It last week returned to the attention of civic leaders, with town council chairman Stuart Hughes saying a fire caused by squatters could burn down ‘half the town’.

Mr Endean said: “Everything I’ve been asked to do has been done.

“The last alleged problem was dealt with on the day and the day after, I don’t know why the barriers are still up.

He added: “It’s got nothing to do with anyone else.”

Councillors also said they have had complaints about the look of the prominent building, with one saying it made the area look ‘like a slum’.

A chairman of Sidmouth’s Chamber of Commerce in the 1980s, Mr Endean said: “The appearance concerns me greatly – things are being done as soon as is humanly possible.”

The former stationers shop has been unoccupied for some time, and councillors continue to work towards a solution.

Mr Endean told the Herald in January last year: “I have a whole list of people interested in buying. I hope to sell this year, as soon as possible. It shouldn’t take too long now.”