NOVEMBER 9, 2011: A derelict church in Greenock’s east end was set to be demolished after a massive blaze tore through it.

The former Cartsdyke Parish Church, in John Street, was gutted by a massive inferno and the building was declared unsafe.

Fire crews from Greenock and Port Glasgow battled the blaze, which was not being treated as deliberate at that stage.

Police said it was possible a stray firework had hit the building and started the fire.

DS Scott McCallum, of Greenock CID, said: “At the moment there is no evidence from either the fire service or our inquiries to say this was a wilful act.

“There was a lot of firework debris around the church and it may have been a misdirected firework.”

Building services officials had inspected the church and it was set to be bulldozed.

DS McCallum said: “My information is that building control have said it is unsafe.

“Fencing has been put up around the building and it will require to be demolished.”

The old church was persistently targeted by vandals last summer, with youths repeatedly trying to set fire to it.

At the time, police chiefs warned the vandals were putting lives at risk and the building was branded ‘a deathtrap’.

The stricken church had been unoccupied for some time and was the subject of a successful planning application in June 2005.

A London-based businessman got permission to convert it into 14 loft-style apartments — but the development never went ahead.