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Urban explorers warned of risks on ghost estate

Suzy Lawson,in Gainsboroughand
Paul Johnson,East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
News imageBBC A drone view of two large, half-built apartment buildings standing on overgrown green land beside a wide river. The two-storey shells are open to the elements, with no door, windows or proper roofs. In the background stands a large Edwardian red-brick school with boarded-up windows. BBC
The land beside the River Trent includes unfinished apartment blocks and a derelict school

Police have warned children and urban explorers to stay away from an abandoned riverside estate and former school.

Trespassers have been reported at an unfinished housing development and derelict Edwardian school buildings on Lea Road, Gainsborough.

Urban explorers have posted videos taken inside the large former school, which dates from 1906 and has been empty since 2010, on social media.

Insp Michael Head, of Lincolnshire Police, said derelict buildings could "pose a significant risk to life" and warned young people to "stay out".

News imageA male police officer, with short grey hair, stands in front of a police van, which is out of focus. He is wearing a black uniform jacket with two silver diamonds on his shoulder. The van is white, yellow and blue.
Insp Michael Head says there is a risk of floors collapsing in the former school

He added: "We don't know the state of these buildings. You could have a stairway collapse and the group that has gone in fall to the ground injured. It could be some time before anyone finds them."

The development was due to have 220 flats and a number of shops, but work on the site stopped almost two years ago, leaving large empty shells.

Residents told the BBC several fires had been started on the overgrown land over the past few years.

The building site was due to go to auction last month but the auctioneer, Savills, said it was withdrawn from sale.

In recent weeks, new fences and bollards have been put in place to try to keep people out.

News imageA man with white hair, swept back, stands on a green patch of land in front of a building site fenced off with high wooden walls. A large shell of a building can be seen in the background.
Councillor Trevor Young says the prominent site "sends all the wrong messages" about the town

Councillor Trevor Young, who represents the ward, said there were real fears about how dangerous the site was.

"We've had lots of complaints by local residents concerned about the site being left abandoned, unsecure, lots of children entering on to the site," he added.

"This is the main gateway into the town and the first thing they see is this undeveloped site."

West Lindsey District Council said: "The council is aware of the concerns relating to the site on the corner of Carr Lane and Lea Road.

"There is currently a live enforcement action on this development and, as a result, we are unable to comment further at this stage."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), council leader Jackie Brockway told a meeting of the authority in February that efforts had been made to work with the land owner.

She said: "We have consistently attempted to engage with the owners and our enforcement position is regularly under review."

The BBC has contacted the developer of the housing, Wright Investments Developments Ltd, for comment.

Additional reporting by Jamie Waller, LDRS.

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