WELSH HOTEL ONCE HOME TO WWI SOLDIERS NOW LIES ABANDONED

A grand 56-bedroom hotel, once heaving with injured soldiers during the First World War, now lies completely abandoned. Named The Rest, the Grade II listed building in Porthcawl, Wales was built as a convalescent hotel in the early 1860s. It was subsequently used as an auxiliary military hospital from 1915. Between World War I and II, the hospital provided care for more than 2,500 wounded soldiers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Rest, which sits on a clifftop overlooking Rest Bay, returned to civilian use as a convalescent hotel in 1946, before it closed in 2013. Photographer Shaun Ashford, 25, of Cardiff, Wales, visited the historic site and captured the Victorian building’s empty interiors.

Other great stories
INDONESIAN FLOATING MARKET IS BURSTING WITH COLOUR

A floating market in Indonesia is bursting with vibrant colours as wooden rowing boats loaded with fruit and vegetables crowd the river .

AURORA BOREALIS ILLUMINATES LAPLAND

From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .

JOLY THE WOLLY FALLS FOR PARKING PRANK

PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .

UNDERWATER DIVING DOGS

WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .

BATHING BEAR CUB

A carefree bear cub reclines in the water with his feet raised in the air .

GOING IN FOR THE GILL

NEVER mind being careful not to choke on your food, this mother bird has a bigger challenge on her hands, as her ravenous offspring impatiently launches its head down into her stomach .

BRAVE LEOPARD BEFRIENDS A CROC

A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .

OWLS ARE MASTERS OF DISGUISE IN INDIAN FOREST

HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .

COLOURFUL FROGS PRACTICE THEIR FROG CRAWL

GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .

LAST MILITARY HOSPITAL TIME CAPSULE

INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .

PEEK-A-BOO FISH: BRIT SNAPPER MAKES RARE FIND

A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .

SWALLOW WHOLE - YOUNG BIRD ENJOYS DINNER TIME

PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .