THRILLSEEKERS continue to risk their lives by trespassing on a derelict hospital site.
The latest explorers of the North Wales Hospital in Denbigh include a photographer who took 14 new photos earlier this month and three boys who posted their footage on the video sharing website, YouTube in December.
They continued to walk around the site despite Denbighshire County Council’s warning signs which state trespassers risk their lives by the building collapsing or from asbestos related lung disease.
The photographer who wished to remain anonymous said: “I don’t know what attracts me to UE (urban exploration) but it’s something that I’ve got addicted to, it can be a bit unnerving when inside but that’s what adds to the excitement, I wouldn’t say that it’s particularly dangerous inside, if you're careful then it’s not a problem.
“It is a shame to see such nice architecture like that fall into the state that it’s in, but that’s due to metal thieves, and vandals who are there primarily to cause destruction.
“I also think that turning it into something useful would be better, perhaps restoring it back into its original use as opposed to housing.”
The photographer also said he “didn’t encounter any security” whilst exploring the building, which is on the at risk register.
The three boys who posted footage on YouTube filmed themselves climbing into an open window at the nurses home at the back of the former hospital.
The film, called Denbigh Mental Asylum: Nurses Home Exploration, shows the walls have been graffitied with pentagons and stars with smaller symbols inside, which are unidentifiable.
The boys which posted the video under the username JTandTE also filmed the word ‘murder’ written on a mirror.
A Denbighshire County Council spokeswoman said: “It is owned by an off shore company and health and safety is their responsibility and we regularly remind them.
“Denbighshire County Council is putting a huge amount of effort into trying to find a solution to this problem site/building.
“We recently spent over £900k stabilising the most important part of the main building because it was on the point of collapsing and we are trying to recover the money from the owner.
“We have also erected 70 warning signs around the site informing people that they risk death by entering the building either immediately from collapse of the building or in 10 years time from asbestos related lung disease.
“We have been inspecting the building regularly for signs of unauthorised entry and have boarded up anywhere where people have been getting in and the cost of the work is placed as a charge on the property.”
The council has arranged visits to schools to warn children of the dangers.
Trespassers at the Grade II listed hospital are not uncommon and these online posts are among several which reveal details of people exploring the dangerous former mental asylum.