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
UNUSUAL FRIENDSHIP

MAKING himself at home, this little snail perches happily on top of this frog's head .

NEW DELHI CHILD RAPE PROTESTS

NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .

LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA

A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family .

STRIPED MARLIN SPEARS ITS CATCH

A striped marlin means business as it spots lunch and spears a small fish .

STRIKING IMAGES RECREATE WORLD WAR II

Primed and ready for action, this collection of striking images from the battlefield could be mistaken for authentic photos taking during World War II .

HOLY COW! DARING FARMERS IN THRILLING CATTLE RACE

An Indonesian farmer is dragged through muddy water as he clings to the tails of two charging cows .

SEALED WITH A BUBBLE KISSED

MEET the underwater British seal who is so friendly he loves to grapple divers like a friendly puppy dog .

OUT-STANDING FIREFIGHTER BREAKS ENDURANCE WORLD RECORD

A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .

FRIENDLY TOAD READY FOR HIS CLOSE UP

STARING eagerly into the camera, this little toad is full of curiosity .

ADORABLE OWLS CUDDLE UP FOR THE CAMERA

HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .

BRAVE DIVER FEEDS SHARKS DEADLY FISH

A diver attempts to control rising numbers of lionfish by feeding the venomous species to Caribbean reef sharks .