The son of a murdered Leeds women is distraught as a “lifeline” pub, which dates back about 260 years, is “beyond repair” after thieves and vandals ransacked the now derelict building.
Joel Barrott, 21, has strong emotional ties to the Old Red Lion in Whinmoor. He described it as his "little escape" where the regulars were like a “close-knit family”.
He's heartbroken the pub has been "destroyed" just a year after the devastating loss of his mum Eileen Barrott. The popular nurse was murdered by Joel's dad Mark Barrott on August 15 last year after she tried to leave him.
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The pub on York Road had its licence revoked last year after a spate of violent incidents. These included two stabbings outside and one person hit by a car.
The late Eileen was a mother-of-two, to Joel and his sister, and an experienced nurse at St James’ Hospital. The 21-year-old described her as a “brilliant person”, a fundraiser and popular in the community.
Not a day goes by where Joel doesn’t miss “her positivity and advice” which kept him going, and he discovered his beloved mother at home after she had been attacked by his father.
Joel described the Old Red Lion as his “little escape” away from home life and said he had been working hard to keep it open prior the utterly tragic event.
Since May, he has been helping with the upkeep and maintenance of the vacant pub which now sits derelict. Thieves and vandals have repeatedly targeted the pub since its closure.
Joel said: “It was my little escape a few days before my mum died. It’s very upsetting, there’s not a lot of places that I can really enjoy.
“That place, and I speak for a lot of regulars, it was like a close-knit family in there. Now it’s just a lifeline that has been lost for a lot of regulars. It’s upsetting for me and the a lot of regulars. It's rubbish.”
Its windows have been smashed to gain entry, all the CCTV was stolen, the copper piping has been stripped out, plus all possible scrap metal that could possibly be taken has been taken, with thieves even stripping the lead from the roof, according to Joel.
Joel has added that trespassers having been setting bonfires inside the old pub. The police have had to attend on multiple occasions and the owners, at their wit’s ends, had to pay a company to professionally board it up.
“When you go in now, it doesn’t even feel like the old pub anymore,” said Joel. “It’s that bad in there, it’s just a derelict building.
“When I first went in, it did upset me a lot, looking at how it was before and what it has become. But now it has no meaning, that’s how much damage has been done and how much they [thieves and vandals] have gone to town on it. It’s beyond repair.”
Joel, whose main job is in insurance, has been helping the Old Red Lion pub and landowner Frances, who didn’t want his last name published. Frances lives in Ireland so needed someone in Leeds to help. The pub was constructed in the 1760s but isn’t a listed building, so Joel fears it will be sold on to developers who will demolish it.
Even though Joel has a great sorrow over the loss of the historic community hub, he says maintaining it has been a welcome distraction from the court trial and his heartbreak.
Joel said: “My sister is down south. I live with my partner Ella and she’s really great, she helps me out. I do work, what’s been happening with the pub has been a bit of a pain with the damage but it’s also been keeping me busy, doing jobs in there to do it up.
“It’s been good for keeping my mind off things, especially with the trial and other things going on. In a sense, it’s helped.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “Officers attended the Old Red Lion, formerly a public house, on York Road, Leeds, on Tuesday (September 6) following reports of a burglary and incidents of anti-social behaviour at the premises.
“Advice was given on how best to secure the property to prevent further incidents.”
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