Abandoned syringes and eerie corridors – these chilling photos of a deserted psychiatric hospital in Wales will spook you
An urban adventurer captured these eerie images of an abandoned psychiatric hospital in a state of disrepair
AN URBAN adventurer captured these eerie images of an abandoned psychiatric hospital in a state of disrepair.
The intrepid photographer, Shaun Ashford, took hundreds of snaps of the chilling mental hospital wards, halls, morgue and rooms in the Whitchurch psychiatric hospital just outside of Cardiff.
When it was fully operational the hospital housed around 750 patients, including women who had children outside of marriage and schizophrenics indefinitely locked up in the facility.
Some of the rooms are fitted with padded walls, while others house unused medical equipment.
The haunting corridors have been left virtually untouched for the past 30 years.
The old building is in disarray with damp causing the paint to peel, the floors to rotting and plants growing through the cracks in the windows.
Shaun, who is from Cardiff, was keen to explore the building.
"This place is amazing, it has been on my hit list for a while so when I learned it was going to close down I knew I had to get in to see it", he said.
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He started to look around the site with his girlfriend Gemma Cowell last September but this led to a run in with the police.
He said: "I got a knock on the door around September 5 and they arrested me for burglary, theft and malicious communications.
"I spent 21 hours in custody, they did three searches of my home but they didn't turn up anything and I was released without charge."
The police officers thought he had stolen keys to the hospital and also a radio but were unable to find any evidence to prove this.
When Shaun returned to continue looking around the hospital on September 8, he claims he was assaulted by the on-site 24 hour security.
"I got rugby tackled to the ground, punched in the ribs and walloped on the head by two guys. I didn't have a bloody clue they were there," he said.
"It is a thrill to see something before it is completely destroyed.
Shaun explains that the building is monitored by security as it still holds confidential medical records.
He added: "I get a rush from knowing I'm getting photos of things I shouldn't be able to see, I get the adrenaline rush from that."
His passion for exploring started nine years ago when he discovered a burnt out house in Wales and decided to photograph it.
"I think they were a bit embarrassed I was able to get in," Shaun added.
Shaun knows he is skating on thin ice with the law but he says: “It's part of the thrill.”
Shaun said: "The best thing about this project from my point of view has been discovering the patient memories, messages scrawled inside wardrobes including poems and messages one patient would write for the next telling them to stick it out."
The building is currently set for redevelopment with plans for 150 homes and 180 flats.
South Wales police have been contacted for a comment.