NOT A LOT LEFT
Creepy pictures show abandoned remains of Camelot theme park – which could now be worth almost £800,000
CAMELOT theme park was once a favourite with kids, boasting exciting rollercoasters and live jousting shows.
Since its closure in 2012, it has fallen into ruins - but could be worth hundreds of thousands.
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The King Arthur-inspired park, which opened in 1983, was boarded up in 2012 after almost 30 years - with owners blaming the closure on bad weather and events like the Olympics, which reduced visitor numbers.
Urban explorer Matthew Holmes, 23, captured the derelict site near Chorley, Lancashire, in a series of photos.
They show decapitated statues, graffiti-covered restaurants and rusting roller coasters choked by overgrown vines - as well as sinister medieval canopies where live jousting was once hosted.
However, new research by suggests that the land could now be worth a whopping £793,000.
With the area measuring 140 acres, this could fit up to 6,294 flats.
The average apartment price in Chorley works out to approximately £126,000 - meaning it could be a whopping investment.
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Developer Story Homes previously had controversial plans to build up to 195 homes and an employment area on the former Camelot site, although this was scrapped last year due to a lack of infrastructure.
Matthew, who often explores abandoned areas, says his love of the history and architecture of Britain's prompted him to take up exploring abandoned buildings.
He said: "It was quite sad to walk around, it is very dilapidated. All that excitement and fun to be replaced by empty space. It's frozen in time. All these rides are still there."
Matthew explores abandoned buildings all over the country but he has never actually had permission to go into any of them.
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He explained: "I will research a place and look around the grounds for a couple of days to see what CCTV there is and how many security guards there are on a site before I decide to gain access.
"There were about eight security guards at Camelot but as long as I kept out of sight I was fine and I just walked straight in."
The theme park opened in 1983 and boasted a 100ft roller coaster called the Knitemare which spanned some 200 metres.
It also had a log flume, a smaller size roller coaster The Twister, three large water slides and a large caterpillar roller coaster train which spanned the whole length and depth of the park running above ground and on ground level.
Owners Knights Leisure shut the park down in 2012 citing poor visitor numbers, with over 150 staff losing their jobs.
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Other creepy theme parks include Florida theme park Boomers! which lasted just 15 years before it closed.
Disney's River Country water park has also been left to ruin after closing in 2001.
However, the area is to re-open with a £268 million revamp in the works.
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