Police are investigating an abandoned military building set alight in Corsham.

Local firefighters were called to the scene at around 4pm last Friday where the former sergeant’s mess at the HMS Royal Arthur site, on the outskirts of Neston, had been set on fire by vandals.

The derelict property has been abandoned due to the asbestos used for many of the buildings, primarily in the roof sheets.

It is one of a few abandoned Ministry of Defence sites in the area and it has become a wasteland for fly tipping and a place in which the rumble of motorcycles often are heard, young bike riders finding the empty, overgrown roads a challenging terrain where there is little to no chance of meeting any other vehicles on the road.

Though one would be hard pressed to find a window pane that hasn’t been smashed or a door that hasn’t been kicked in, the walls are coated with an urban art gallery or graffiti. Ranging from surreal scenes to elaborate slogans, the place, though usually secured off from the public holds a display of colour where it is impossible to find a stretch of wall untarnished.

If anyone has information about the fire they should contact the Corsham Police on 0845 408 7000.

For more photographs on the current state of HMS Royal Arthur, check out the gallery photographs. What do you think should happen to the site and is the graffiti and act of vandalism, or a creative outlet in a space that is causing no harm to the outer community?