Explorer Kyle Urbex took photos of the inside of Moorfield Lodge care home in Moortown, Leeds which dates back to the early 1800s and was once home to an illegal drugs operation
Harrowing images show the secrets of an abandoned cannabis farm set up inside a care home that closed down when the owner was discovered to be using residents’ bank cards to buy designer clothes.
Photos show the dilapidated care home still with evidence of its use as an illegal growing operation once worth £500,000, with ducting and insulation ripped out all over the place and food left rooting. Pictures of smiling staff were still hanging on a noticeboard. The photos of the care home were taken by explorer Kyle Urbex in Moortown, Leeds, England.
Moorfield Lodge dates back to the early 1800’s and was formerly a small country house owned by a mill owner and later transformed into the gigantic 48-room care home. The manager of the care home Allison Bulmer made headlines in 2019 when it was discovered she was using residents’ bank cards to buy herself designer clothes.
She also forged invoices in an attempt to scam money from the care home, she was convicted and sentenced to 16 months, suspended for 24 months and made to work a total of 100 hours of unpaid work. Following this scandal, the home closed its doors permanently but criminal activity seemed to follow this building. In 2023 police were informed of a drug operation being run from the former care home.
During a raid the Yorkshire police found almost £500,000 worth of cannabis. “Located on Fieldhouse Walk in the Moortown area of Leeds, West Yorkshire sits the derelict Moorfield Lodge,” said Kyle. “The site dates back to the early 1800’s and was formerly a small country house owned by a mill owner and later transformed into the gigantic 48 room care home.
“It was put in controversy in 2019 when the care home was spread across newspapers because it was discovered then manager Alison Bulmer had been taking advantage of the elderly residents by taking their bank card and using them for her own pleasure, which included a large amount of transactions for garden furniture and designer clothes. Following this she also attempted to scam the care home out of thousands of pounds by forging invoices sent by non-existent companies.
“The judge in her case Neil Clark sentenced her to a 16-month sentence which was suspended for 24 months and made to work a total of 100 hours of unpaid work. By 2021 it was decided that the care home would close for good. The site was listed for sale at a guide price of £1.5 million however in 2023 West Yorkshire Police raided the property on intel that a large-scale drugs operation was taking place at the former care home.
“Inside they found almost half a million pounds worth of cannabis including plants, equipment and a full set-up. It was all left to rot ever since. I decided to pop my head in and it absolutely wreaked of weed. Navigating round it was clear every room more or less was used for the grow.
“However, following it round I did actually find the part with no cannabis growing in and came across the most amazing stained glass which made this exploration certainly worth the sketchy climb to get in. Care homes always have an eeriness to them when you think of what went on inside them.”