Three teenage girls obsessed with exploring abandoned buildings have appeared in court after being caught red-handed inside a dilapidated farmhouse.
Sarah Waltham, now 20 but 19 at the time, Shannon Fowler, 18, and Emily McGhee, 19, broke into a former farmhouse undergoing renovation as part of an online trend.
All three girls had travelled to Hill Farm House in Rackheath, Norfolk after seeing it listed on a website dedicated to so-called urban exploring. They were arrested when the homeowner called police after spotting light from a torch inside the property on January 24. Waltham, of Paradise Road in Downham Market, had admitted burglary but magistrates agreed to vacate her guilty plea in favour of the alternative charge.The three girls were arrested when the homeowner called police after spotting light from a torch inside the property on January 24
Under the law, people can be punished for being found in any 'deserted or unoccupied building' not fit for habitation, such as derelict buildings and barns. People could also be punished for sleeping in the 'open air' or 'under a tent'. Michael Cole, for McGhee, said: 'To run such a site is wholly irresponsible and encourages people to unintentionally commit such offences.'There has been a dramatic rise in 'urban exploration' in the UK in recent years, which sees young people 'exploring' buildings which are abandoned or undergoing building work.
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