New pictures have revealed the shocking state of the former Accrington Conservative Club before it was devastated in a suspected arson attack.
Firefighters from across Lancashire tackled a huge fire at the former Conservative Club on Cannon Street last month.
The iconic building has now been largely reduced to rubble with only the Grade II listed front facade still left standing following demolition work.
Photographer John Mullen captured the dilapidated interior and crumbling staircase back in April 2015.
John, from Oswaldtwistle, said he was ‘shocked and devastated’ at seeing how the building had become. One haunting picture reveals the words ‘Welcome to Hell’ daubed on a wall.
John said: “I was just walking past and I saw the gate was open, which I’d never seen before.
“I wandered in with my camera but I couldn’t get very far because the staircase had collapsed and the flooring had gone. I couldn’t even get as far as the ballroom.
“The last time I had been inside was in the 1950s when I was about 16. It was just a Conservative Club then for private members. The ballroom was open on Saturdays and for special occasions.
“I was devastated when I got inside and quite shocked to see the state it was in. There was some lovely stonework on that building.”
Demolition work started two weeks ago after firefighters and council officers deemed the building to be structurally unsafe. Road closures on Cannon Street and Paradise Street have been lifted but assessments are still being made to determine whether the final third of the building needs to be demolished.
More than 120 people have signed an online petition to save it.
