Inside abandoned village people can only enter with special permission from military

A village in Norfolk can only be entered with special permission from the military.

Stanford, a deserted village and vivil parish in the English county, was taken over by the British Army during the Second World War.

It became known as the Stanford Battle Area, and to this day remains an infantry training area that is still in use.

The commune was evacuated and reestablished in 1942 to replicate a 'Nazi village', and was used during the run-up to the D-Day invasion.

In 2009, another section was added to the Battle Area for troops due to be deployed in support of the Afghan war.

It includes houses, a market and a mosque and even features a system that pumps out smells like rotten meat and sewage.

The Stanford Training Area was used to replicate a Nazi village during the Second World War (Google Maps)

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The 16 Air Assault Brigade hold their annual Gryphon exercises there, as well as cadets wishing to complete Fieldcraft exercises.

The village, situated seven 1/2 miles north of Thetford and 25 miles southwest of Norwich, is within a prohibited area and visitors must gain special permission from the Army.

Access is mostly limited to a sparse number of tours throughout the year and to compassionate grounds for former residents of the villages or their relatives.

Live fire practices take place on site, so entering at your own risk would not be without consequence.

Churches such as the parish church of All Saints are fitted with blast-proofing sheeting to protect them from military manoeuvres.

There is also wire fencing surrounding each of the surviving churches and churchyards within the area.

Residents were told they could return after the war, but the Army has since held on to the six Norfolk villages (Wikipedia)

Stanford is one of six Norfolk villages abandoned by their residents during the Second World War - who were told they could return once it was over.

West Tofts, Sturston, Langford, Stanford, Buckenham Tofts and Tottington were evacuated and have since remained under military control.

But, while it is still an active military area, now called Stanford Training Area, a 2001 census reported a population of eight people in four households across an area of 5.26 square miles.

Again, in 2011 the Census remained less than 100 and, for the purposes of local government, Stanford was included in the civil parish of Croxton.

Its name means "stony ford".

Famously, the village battle area was used to film a number of episodes of comedy series Dad's Army

In recent years two major fires have hit the village.

The first, took place on August 21, 2005, when the row of five cottages fronting Church Green, caught ablaze, due to a smouldering chimney fire which took hold in the thatched roofs, and quickly spread.

The second fire occurred on July 6, 2013, within the roof space and second and first floors of the village pub, the Horse and Jockey.