Urban explorers make horrific discovery inside abandoned house

A group of urban explorers say they made a horrific discovery while looking around an abandoned old property near Somerset.

The groups, who share their explorations online under the names mission_urbex and Just Looking Explores, said when they first came across the old house they noticed a door at the rear of the property had been damaged, leaving it wide open so they decided to leave and explore an abandoned hotel nearby.

However, in a post shared on Facebook back in August, the group said the property, which they dubbed ‘John’s House’, continued to ‘play on [their] minds’, so they went back for another look.

After entering the house, the urban explorers said they found ‘everything’ still in its place, with coats and hats hung near the door and ‘everyday belongings’ filling the rooms.

“Outside, John’s little red car sat rotting away, clearly having not moved for years,” they wrote.

“The whole time we were taking photos, we felt on edge because we still weren’t sure whether the house was actually abandoned.”

But as they ventured further into the house, they made the horrific discovery of the former owner's deceased body.

“We immediately called the emergency services, and the police and ambulance attended,” they wrote.

“What started as a normal explore became something neither of us will ever forget.”

The pair said that although the discovery was ‘horrible’ they were glad they went back when they did ‘otherwise, who knows how much longer John could have been there before somebody found him’.

The photographers also shared several images from the home, showing pictures hanging on the wall, a large collection of VHS tapes, and an unmade bed.

The post garnered a mixed-reaction, with some social media users praising them and their urban exploring for helping make the discovery, while others said the post was disrespectful.

One said: “Thank goodness you did follow instincts. Well done team.”

Another commented: “This is so sad. Thank God you went back, who knows how much longer he’d have been there otherwise.”

However, others suggested the post shouldn’t have been shared, with one person branding it ‘disgusting’.

Someone else commented: “Heartbreaking, his privacy was violated like this.”

And a third said the post was not ‘very respectful at all’, adding: “Not everything needs to be done on a public platform, this is one of the reasons social media can be so harmful.”

In a follow-up, mission_urbex hit back at the criticism, saying nothing they had posted had been done to ‘disrespect’ John.

They wrote: “People can be living alone, die in their homes and remain undiscovered because nobody realises they're gone. If anything positive comes from sharing this, hopefully it makes someone think twice and check in on an elderly or lonely neighbour they haven't seen for a while.

“I meant John no disrespect. I'm actually glad we followed our gut and went back, because otherwise, who knows how much longer he could have been there.”

They also explained that they refused to share any further details on where the property was to avoid others visiting.