URBAN explorers who frequently visit and photograph a site in Powys that has become known as a “bus graveyard” are being urged to stop trespassing.

The former Browns Coaches site, on the side of the A483 between the villages of Garth and Cilmery, has become something of pilgrimage for history buffs and vehicle enthusiasts. They have become drawn to the site, near Builth Wells, since it ceased operating as a garage and petrol station over a decade ago.

The majority of people visit to photograph the dilapidated buildings and vehicles left in situ.

But site owners and nearby residents say they break into the privately-owned site without permission and cause damage to property, including locks and fences.

County Times: The former Browns Coaches Site is known as a “bus graveyard” among urban explorers. The former Browns Coaches Site is known as a “bus graveyard” among urban explorers. (Image: Supplied)

In July 2020, Dyfed Powys Police said its officers would be routinely patrolling the area and speaking to anyone found at the location, after a bus windscreen was smashed using a brick.

“Unfortunately the site has a lot of publicity all over the internet and, sadly, people have no respect that it’s privately owned and they feel the need to take photos, do damage and break and enter secure buildings and fenced areas,” said one concerned reader.

“I’m trying to put a stop to people visiting the site and posting all over the internet.

“The photos and videos they take is private land and it’s the equivalent to trespassers visiting your own house/ or garden. It’s frustrating as it encourages more visitors.

“The police have been contacted in the past but (if they were contacted) every time it happens the calls to the police would be endless.”

The buildings on site were secure until the first few people broke in, with the site owner repeatedly having to pay for new locks.

Urban explorers are also trespassing over the bungalow next door, using the garden to gain access.

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As recently as late February, a secure wooden fence was broken.

The Browns site consists of an old service station with a workshop/storage area out the back, and a coach yard lined with derelict vehicles.

It is not known when exactly the site ceased operating, although it is thought to have been sometime in the early 2000s, prior to 2010.

County Times: Site owners and nearby residents complain that explorers break in to the site, which is private property, and cause damage. Site owners and nearby residents complain that explorers break in to the site, which is private property, and cause damage. (Image: Supplied)

In 2014, applicant Roy Brown Coaches succeeded in changing the site’s use from a garage to general industrial and storage and distribution.

Since its closure, it has increasingly attracted urban explorers – which is the act of going into abandoned and dilapidated buildings that are often fenced off or hidden away from the general public.

Photography and documenting the history of the buildings or areas are the main reasons why people get into the hobby.