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
BABY ELEPHANT HAS FUN IN THE SUN

SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .

FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .

RAINBOW CAVES

WELCOME to the 750-foot deep rainbow cave that leaves visitors bewildered by its multi-coloured mood lighting .

FALSE KILLER WHALE BEAMS AS HE CATCHES HIS LUNCH

Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .

PEE-TRIFIED: WOMAN HAS IRRATIONAL FEAR OF TOILETS

A woman with an irrational fear of toilets goes POTTY on the loo and runs away when she flushes, terrified it will swallow her up .

BULLIES CRUELLY CALLED ME “PIG NOSE” AND “NO NOSE” - NOW I’VE EMBRACED MY FACIAL DIFFERENCE AND FEEL BEAUTIFUL

A woman has revealed how cruel bullies taunted her daily at school, calling her names like 'pig nose' and 'no nose' .

BETRAYED BY CANCER CON WOMAN!

Recovering from a rare form of breast cancer, Deborah Barnett, 43, of Stoke-on-Trent, thought she'd made it through the worst, but she was betrayed by former colleague Sandra Ramsay, of Mow Cop Road, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent .

FLY FISHING

A fish almost escapes the beak of a bird as they both soar through the air .

MUM TOLD GET DOWN GYM FATTY

Sarah Gould, before weight loss Mum told "get down the gym fatty" -A 20 stone woman who was told "get down the gym fatty" on a night out has shed a third of her weight in time for her dream wedding .

ABANDONED TEXTILE MILL

HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .

MANDELA MEMORIAL

Thousands of people are gathering at a stadium in Johannesburg for a memorial service for Nelson Mandela .

I BLAME MYSELF FOR MY DAUGHTER’S ANOREXIA

WENDY Randall, 16, from Kent is now training to be a bodybuilder after recovering from anorexia .