Video reveals extent of decay and fire damage at former Fife school

Astonishing footage has surfaced from inside Viewforth High school - just months before it was burned down.

The video showed how easy it was to access the site, and then simply walk into the building via an unlocked door.

It was published online in February, and has been viewed almost 25,000 times.

The video shows three people exploring one wing of the main teaching building and Eastbank House which was badly damaged in another blaze in 2017.

It was posted on You Tube by a team which explores abandoned buildings across Scotland.

The 40-minute film starts with the trio - two men and a woman - simply climbing over the school gate on Loughborough Road, and making their way to the teaching wing.

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The ground floor side door appears unlocked, giving them full access to the empty corridors, classrooms and offices.

“You can smell the fire and smoke” comments one as they head inside - and the video goes on to reveal some of the damage from the two fireraising incidents which hit the former high school earlier this year.

Their footage takes viewers into numerous empty classrooms. In one former S3 room, the homework help board is still filled with examples of pupils’ work, while a blackboard contains a mathematical equation waiting to be solved some four years after the school closed its doors for the last time.

There is evidence of crude graffiti on some of the walls - another indication youths have been able to access the secured site. - “Brooklyn was here” is just one of the messages scrawled on the decaying, white walls.

In some rooms, tables and chairs are still stacked in corners, while the Viewforth crest on the corridor is close to some evident water damage. Display cabinets sit empty, while some doors are locked.

The fire damage is also clearly evident as they make their way through the building. Some corridors have been left blackened by smoke.

The trio also head upstairs into more rooms, passing a mural on the steps, and even turn their camera to capture the scene in the street.

After half an hour they head across to Eastbank House which was badly damaged by fire three years ago – but the footage reveals the full extent for the first time.

Access was easy – the security fence around the building had already been breached, and the main entrance door appeared unlocked.

Amid the debris and decay, the history of the building was still evident, as the two men entered the main foyer.

The green wood panelling is still in place, the ornate cornices still adorn the ceiling.

A stained glass window half way up the stairs is protected by external boarding.

But, upstairs, the damaged caused by the 2017 blaze was horrendous.

The roof has caved in, leaving a huge hole from the first floor to the ground with wooden beams and debris tumbling into it.

Incredibly, a blackboard remains in place with the last chalked instructions from the teacher still visible.

As the camera roams round the top floor, only the walls and floors still stand – the rest of this former baronial home is in ruins.

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