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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Kelly-Ann Mills

Graveyard of cars and trucks discovered at home of veteran who fought in World War Two

A car graveyard has been discovered at the home of a World War Two soldier and his wife who enjoyed salvaging vehicles.

Urban explorer Daniel Sims came across the abandoned West Sussex home and spent two hours looking round the treasure trove.

Daniel, known as Bearded Reality on Instagram and Youtube, got a shot of a caterpillar truck overgrown with weeds while another shot shows a trilby hat carefully hung on the bannister while everywhere else in the house seems to have become a victim to hoarding.

Daniel said: "I only knew of this place having the Bedford trucks and some vehicles, so I was very happy and surprised that the place had everything left behind.

"I know very little of the previous owner. At some point, a couple resided there and they must have had a massive dealing with trucks so there are a good thirty plus stored there, mainly Bedfords.

The enclosed garage area has become victim to the elements (mediadrumimages/BeardedReality)

"The place itself is very derelict, but has a lifetime of hoarding inside various items. It also seems the male owner served in World War II and traveled quite a bit."

He added: "The site itself was wide open and seemed to have been left this way for quite some time, left and forgotten.

It is hard to see any floor space (mediadrumimages/BeardedReality)

"Even though there is a neighbouring house nearby we were very chilled out at this place as the space itself and property is quite hidden from prying eyes so you get to relax and have time to look at everything and decide what you would like to take photos of and focus on.

"Outside were some amazing Bedford Trucks left behind as well as various cars and other vans left decaying with a few in not-so-bad condition with a garage for repairing and sorting out various vehicles; however the main treasures were hidden within the house.

A picture of a solider and a royal mug (mediadrumimages/BeardedReality)

"As soon as you enter the property you are hit with the scale of hoarding in this place as everything is just stacked up which shows years of constant build-up which suggests to me it's been left over a decade.

"I found some original signed pieces of lovely art hidden away and as you walked around saw various coats and suit jackets hung up.

The bedroom cannot be manoeuvred and is full of damp (mediadrumimages/BeardedReality)

"As you enter the living room you see that it is hard to navigate around it but I spotted some photos of the previous owners which were nice to see and connect with.

"The second living area had various mobility equipment suggesting it was an older person that owned the property probably in the late 70s - 90s and I saw various china and trinkets stored in the back of the room."

A rotting white van (mediadrumimages/BeardedReality)

Daniel added: "The inside itself was so filled and looked partly ransacked; however, it was mainly just filled with so much stuff that it was difficult to get around.

"The house itself is in parts of disrepair and interestingly it looks like an extension was being built, however, the owner must have passed as it was never finished.

"The outside of the property is amazingly filled with so many vehicles collected over a lifetime and even a garage with cars being worked on so the previous owner definitely had a passion for cars and mechanics.

Someone has carved DARK into the dust on the mirror (mediadrumimages/BeardedReality)

"There were also bits of farming equipment and a horse truck so maybe it was a partly working horse farm as well for breeding or racing perhaps.

"With shots like this firstly I love the natural decay and rust that surrounds the place and also love capturing what I feel is like a moment and place lost in time.

"The place itself seems to have been left between 10-15 years by some of the things that have been left behind but could be longer with loads of items and things dating as old as the early 1900s."

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