See inside pictures of the abandoned Camelot Theme Park

The much-loved theme park in Charnock Richard holds fond memories for most adults in Chorley.

So when Matthew Holmes, 23, published photos of the rusting roller coasters and the mock-medieval buildings onto his Facebook page Exploring Abandoned Buildings With Matthew Holmes, thousands of people shared them.

The images show the dilapidated site looking creepy with paint falling off walls which are covered in graffiti.

Sinister medieval canopies that might have shaded damsels as their favoured knight joust for their affections at a tournament.

Elsewhere vines have crept over the tracks of roller coasters.

Matthew says his love of the history and architecture of Britain’s past is what prompted him to take up exploring abandoned buildings.

“I was in Crew and came across an old World War Two prison of war camp,” he said.

“That’s when it all began. I just took pictures with my mobile phone.

“It was phenomenal to walk round this time warp so I thought let’s see what else is out there.”

Matthew, who is from Manchester and works in property, decided to visit Camelot when a friend mentioned to him that it was now derelict.

“I went to the theme park when I was 13 years old and most adults have been.

“I thought, let’s go a have a look and see what’s there.

“I went inside and instantly all these memories came back from when I was a child.

“It was quite sad to walk around, it is very dilapidated. All that excitement and fun to be replaced by empty space. It’s frozen in time. All these rides are still there.”

Matthew explores abandoned buildings all over the country but he has never had permission to go into any of them.

However he does his research before he goes into an old building.

He said: “I will research a place and look around the grounds for a couple of days to see what CCTV there is and how many security guards there are on a site before I decide to gain access.

“There were about eight security guards at Camelot but as long as I kept out of sight I was fine and I just walked straight in.”

Almost 200 new homes are planned for the former Camelot site by developer Story Homes.

The plans are for up to 195 homes and an employment area, which Story Homes says could deliver about 80 jobs.

The proposals have proved controversial with residents in the area.

Matthew thinks that the theme park could be difficult to save.

He said: “The majority of buildings I got into I think oh that could be a hotel or a night club but with Camelot its more difficult.

“The only way to save it as a site would be to convert it back into a theme park.”

Camelot theme park opened in 1983 but closed in 2012.

The park boasted a 100ft roller coaster called the Knitemare which spanned some 200 meters.

It also had a log flume, a smaller size roller coaster The Twister, three large water slides and a large caterpillar roller coaster train which spanned the whole length and depth of the park running above ground and on ground level.