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GHOST GROUND

Inside abandoned stadium left as a park with centre circle still intact and players’ entrance still there between houses

VETCH Field was once the proud home of Swansea City and occasionally the Wales national team.

With a capacity of 12,000 when it closed and 30,000 in its heyday, it's a place that Swansea City fans called home from 1912 all the way up until 2005.

Vetch field was the home of Swansea City between 1912 and 2005
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Vetch field was the home of Swansea City between 1912 and 2005Credit: PA
The stadium had a 12,000 seater capacity
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The stadium had a 12,000 seater capacityCredit: PA
Vetch Field is now Vetch park
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Vetch Field is now Vetch parkCredit: The Sun
A wall of the ground that remains intact
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A wall of the ground that remains intactCredit: Getty

It was once host to The Who in 1976 and Stevie Wonder in 1984 for packed out concerts.

However, there are few clues that Swansea's stadium ever stood on the site of the Vetch now.

The stands of the once iconic stadium were knocked down in 2011, after Swansea left for the Swansea.com Stadium in 2005.

The stadium site is a local park and almost all remnants of the ground have been wiped out.

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The only clues that a stadium once stood there is an old gate for the East Stand that now leads only to bricked up walls and a rusting players' entrance that sits between two houses.

There is also an old wall from the ground which sits in the corner of the park, which is helpfully labelled with Swansea City graffiti.

But most shocking of all is the image of where the pitch once stood.

Now a non-descript local park, it consists of a series of fields with only a concrete cage being present for anyone that wants to play football.

The Vetch had a Luton Town-style entrance between houses for its players
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The Vetch had a Luton Town-style entrance between houses for its playersCredit: PA
The gate now is part of what little is left of the stadium
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The gate now is part of what little is left of the stadiumCredit: The Sun
The gates of the East Stand remain in the roads surrounding the park
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The gates of the East Stand remain in the roads surrounding the parkCredit: The Sun
West Ham visited Vetch Field during a 1999 FA Cup third round replay
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West Ham visited Vetch Field during a 1999 FA Cup third round replayCredit: Getty

The stadium lay completely abandoned between 2005 and 2011, much to the annoyance of fans.

Pictures from those six years show a post-apocalyptic image of crumbling stands stood between grass that had not been cut since 2005.

The site was meant to become a housing development but bureaucracy meant it stood derelict until 2011.

When demolition finally began, angry fans 'stole' artefacts they thought should be preserved for the club's history.

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Most notable of this was the Vetch Field clock which went missing for a period of time before fans came forward to donate the artefact to the Swansea museum.

One part of the Vetch does remain in

tact among the confines of the local park however.

It was ruled that the centre circle could not be touched during redevelopment due to fans' ashes being spread on it.

The centre circle of the Vetch remains intact as fans' had their ashes spread there
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The centre circle of the Vetch remains intact as fans' had their ashes spread thereCredit: Getty

Swansea have been at their new home, the Swansea.com Stadium, since 2005.

During that period the team were promoted to the Premier League in 2011 which marked one of the most successful period in the club's history.

After establishing themselves as a top tier side, they went onto win the 2013 League Cup with an iconic side that included cult hero Michu.

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Their new ground would go on to host Europa League football as a result, with a cup run that included a 3-0 away victory against Valencia.

While the new stadium has seen some good times, many Swans fans still believe that the atmosphere cannot compare to the old Vetch.

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