‘URBAN explorers’ who gained access to a derelict school in Wrexham could have been ‘seriously hurt’, a leading politican has warned.

Pictures showing the inside of the Groves School on Chester Road were published on the website of a Shrewsbury-based blogger towards the end of last week.

The images capture the deteriorating condition of the building, which was originally earmarked for demolition by Wrexham Council, before it was awarded listed status by the Welsh Government in 2016.

The site has since been boarded up and fencing was installed in 2017 after a camp was set up in its grounds by a group of homeless people.

However, despite regular patrols by security guards, the author of the ‘Shrewsbury From Where You Are Not’ blog said he was able to gain entry with two others to take photos of the delapidated classrooms.

The leader of the council has now spoken out to discourage others from following suit after highlighting the dangers of going into the disused building.

Cllr Mark Pritchard said: “We take a very dim view of anyone gaining unauthorised access to the site and would discourage any such attempts due to reasons of health and safety – anyone who trespasses on to site does so at their own risk and would pose an incredible risk to their own safety.

“Such behaviour risks getting someone seriously hurt.

“We also note that the site is a listed building, and unauthorised access can cause damage to the building, funds for the upkeep of which are drawn from our education budget.

“The Groves school is monitored by CCTV and frequent patrols by security officers contracted to secure the site and protected by fencing installed in 2017.”

The authority previously looked into the possibility of reopening the Groves as a primary school but senior figures were put off by the estimated £11.5m cost.

At the end of last year, it was announced the council was working with Wrexham AFC over plans to create a new permanent training facility on the surrounding land.

Expressions of interest have been sought for the school building itself after it was declared surplus to requirements and a cross-party group of councillors has met to discuss possible uses.

However, the blog’s author, who is named as Chris Schurke on his social media profiles, has criticised the authority for not doing enough to revive it.

In a blog post detailing his visit the site, he said: “In regards to the school’s future, even though I’ve seen the plans that were drawn up, in 2018 the council announced that they had no plans for the building, still bitter that their demolition plans were thwarted.

“The council has pretty much just annoyed everyone with inadequate transparency, failing to outline a decent plan for the site, but simultaneously stopping the college (Coleg Cambria) from utilising the premises, leaving everyone with a big derelict building that’s slowly rotting away.

“Some suspect that the council are letting it fall gradually into ruin so that in the end there’s no other option than to destroy it.”

In a disclaimer posted at the top of the article,  Mr Schurke said he was aware of the risks associated with accessing abandoned buildings and discouraged others from doing the same.

While he did not reveal how he gained entry to the site, he said he doesn’t break into the properties he visits or aim to cause any damage.

He added that the main purpose of his explorations was to document the history of old buildings.