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
BRITISH KINGFISHER SPLASH

BRITISH kingfishers love to cool off by creating a splash .

EYE-CATCHING TRIBAL HAIRSTYLES

BRAIDED, sculpted and beaded, these are the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola .

PURR-FECT TIGER CUBS GET THEIR HEALTH CHECKS

TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .

RELAXING OTTER

FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .

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 .

SPECTACULAR BODY ART

FROM COLOURFUL autumn leaves to living trees at first glance you might miss these people blended with nature .

FIGHTING FOXES

A pair of snarling foxes go paw-to-paw and brawl after unexpectedly crossing paths .

PORCUPINES COME CLOSE TO VICTORY AGAINST PRIDE OF HUNGRY LIONS

Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .

KISS OF LIFE TODDLER

A toddler has shrugged off death an incredible 10 times thanks to his parents who revive him with the kiss of life every two weeks .

THE BEAUTIFUL MOSQUE OF COLOURS

As sunlight cascades through its vibrant stained glass windows, every inch of the Nasir-ol-Mulk Mosque bursts with colour .

OH DEER: MOMENT DEER CRASHES THROUGH WINDSCREEN OF BUS

With no luck at the front of the bus, the deer runs around the center seats trying to escape through the window – THIS is the astonishing moment a DEER crashed through the front windshield of a bus before it went hysterically running around the vehicle .

BIG FOOT 'JESUS BIRD'

THIS BIGFOOT 'Jesus bird' may look silly, but he's perfectly designed for walking on water .