WATCH: See inside these creepy abandoned hospital wards

The gothic building near Horsforth opened in 1869 as a convalescent home for patients who had been treated at Leeds General Infirmary, and from 1952 it was converted into a leading cancer treatment centre.

Early patients in the pre-NHS years had to fund their own care at eight shillings a week, although some charity beds were available. Strict rules were in place until 1934, and the requirements included doing chores in the house and grounds and obeying the matron.

It was requisitioned for the treatment of wounded soldiers during World War One, and during World War Two was used as a maternity home to free up bed space elsewhere.

In 1929 doctors started experimenting with radiation therapy for cancer cases, and after the war it was taken over by the NHS, who added new buildings in the 1950s and 60s.

The complex eventually became outdated and services were moved to St James's Hospital in 2008, leaving the Grade II-listed building to be converted into housing.

Urban explorers who have visited the derelict site discovered operating theatres still intact, beds with patients' names still displayed on them, and clocks that still ticked - as well as bloodstains that remained visible. In 2010, a group fled the site after discovering what they thought was the body of a tramp in the basement rooms. After returning with the police, it was found to be a medical dummy that had been stored next to rotting food.