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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Katie Dollard & Sara Odeen-Isbister

Pair stumble upon '£100,000 worth of drugs' while exploring abandoned mansion

A pair exploring an abandoned mansion and former restaurant dating back to 1810 stumbled across a drugs haul worth an estimated £100,000.

Urban explorer Daniel Sims, and fellow enthusiast Micky found a massive bag of white powder they believed was cocaine, a bag of cannabis, pills and scales while filming inside Crimble Hall, in Rochdale for Daniel's YouTube channel, BeardedReality.

The pair had gained access to the property through a door that was left open and were exploring the rooms when they came across the haul, which Daniel thinks could be worth around £100,000.

After Micky picks up spoonful of the powder to show viewers, Daniel tells him they should get out quick.

The pair found a huge haul of drugs including a massive bag of white powder they believe is cocaine (Jam Press/BeardedReality)

Speaking to NeedToKnow.online, Daniel, 33, said: "We decided to leave at this point as we knew someone would be back for this and it was not the wisest to stay here."

Once outside and walking away, Daniel said it was definitely cannabis they found and he was 80 per cent sure the powder was cocaine.

According to Daniel, Crimble Hall was once owned by one of Rochdale's first MPs, John Fenton. It remained in the family's possession from then when it was built in 1810 until 1878.

Scales were found alongside the drugs (Jam Press/BeardedReality)

In 1913 the Hall was acquired by Colonel Hartley who restored it to its original pattern and eventually put it up for auction in 1957, as it was too large for him to manage.

The last occupants were the Gartside family, who sold it to a private company that used it as a restaurant from the 1960s until it was suddenly closed in 2019.

Daniel found out about the abandoned building after seeing some photos online, and decided to explore it with Micky.

The building housed a restaurant for many years that shut in 2019 (Jam Press/BeardedReality)

While scouting the building, they noticed that a door which had no windows in it had been left open, allowing access to the building.

As he entered, the explorer Daniel said he was “stunned” by the interior.

The video showed dining booths and tables from the old restaurant and a bar with tonnes of glasses, kitchen appliances and beer pumps which are still connected to barrels and working.

The pair found lots of interesting features in the restaurant like this lion statue (Jam Press/BeardedReality)

The pair moved on to the 'peacock' room, which had another bar, impressive architecture and marble decorations.

As they explored further, they discovered mirrors, paintings and more glasses, before entering the chef’s kitchen, still filled with appliances and valuables.

It's as they walked into the building's living quarters, that they stumbled across the white powder, cannabis, and scales.

In another room, they find a pile of pills and a dog’s bed with a huge bag of narcotics.

They also discovered a telescope in a further room.

The restaurant booths (Jam Press/BeardedReality)

Daniel said: "We couldn't believe such a stunning place was left abandoned with everything just left behind and we wondered why it had been left like it.

"However, as we made our way into the living quarters we started to feel quite tense and worried when we found the illegal substances and signs that people could be using the place for other means.

"So we wrapped up filming and went out quickly. We were there for about 40 mins and left sharply after illegal substances were found."

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