THE arson attack on the Gwalia office in Ammanford, was not unexpected, it has been claimed.

Jane John, whose father owns the office, said it was a case of: "I told you so."

Mrs John said she has been urging Carmarthenshire Council to secure an adjoining flat and attached house to stop youths using the property as a meeting place.

But Mrs John said this had not been done and youngsters have been using the property to store stolen goods.

"I have asked the council's public protection department to serve an enforcement notice on the owner of the house to secure the building," said Mrs John, of Tirydail.

"But their efforts were not adequate and youths were able to get in and out of the building.

"Officers did a land registry search to find out who the present owner is and said they would serve the notice to get him to maintain the property.

"If he did not do this then they said they would do it themselves and charge him.

"But all they did was put up MDF boards which my eight-year-old daughter would probably be able to break through."

The mother-of-one said the offices have been gutted by the fire, which started in the front bedroom.

Her father John Edwards is now faced with a repair bill for thousands of pounds.

"I have been informed by the police that youths have had access to the flat for months," said Mrs John.

"In October I spoke to public protection and expressed my concerns about the safety of the site.

"I told the council at the time that youths could damage the property and even start a fire. Now it's happened, will they do something?"

Carmarthenshire Council's public protection officer Philip Davies said: "We were unaware of the fire at the flats but my officers will be investigating to see if there is any involvement of another property, tenant or landlord."