(London): Alistair Darling was today trying to explain to Parliament, Police and Public how they appear to have lost the HM Customs and Excise building in Preston.

The building was first spotted missing when a local resident commented about the extra light available in his kitchen, it's thought however it may have been weeks before the loss was noticed.

"I commented to the wife I could see the controls on the oven so much better these days," said Bernard Collinghaven.

"Then we noticed that unsightly building over the road appeared to have gone, when we rang the police they asked if we could check behind the post box and under any parked cars."

Mr Darling said he "deeply regretted" what had happened, but stressed there was no evidence of misuse of the building.

"People are entitled to trust the government to look after buildings that is given to it - for child benefit or any other purposes - and that did not happen here," said the chancellor.

He said the building "should never, ever have left the street in which it was stored".

Originally blame had fallen on the local council but, despite an intense police search, no deeds have been found.

"We have been given absolutely no proof either from HMRC or from the police that this building ever entered the Preston Council system."

Last night investigators continued to search for the missing building but all that had surfaced so far were two jiffy bags containing a total of eight recordable CDs.