THE deserted shell of Princess Margaret Hospital stands like a grey battleship, surrounded by a high fence to deter the curious.

The people are gone now, but everywhere there are little signs of the staff and patients that once filled the building with life.

Scribbled notes are left on whiteboards, postcards remain pinned to noticeboards and discarded paperwork adorns desks.

A clock on the wall of the records office still keeps the correct time, beating out the last seconds as its battery fades.

We enter through what was once the busiest part of the hospital building, the outpatients department.

Just beneath the desk, a marble stone commemorates the opening of the building 45 years ago.

It reads: "This stone was laid by Princess Margaret on May 16, 1957".

And opposite is a Japanese styled mural by Swindon artist Ken White.

Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust spokesman Chris Birdsall said: "When the hospital was working, this area used to cater for hundreds of thousands of people each year. It is quite eerie to see it like this I have to say. I always remember this place being packed, full of people. It is so different now."

Although it is only three months since the last patients were transferred to Swindon's new Great Western Hospital, the fabric of the building has deteriorated significantly.

Paint is peeling from the walls, floorboards in the restaurant area have risen to create ripple shapes across the floor because they have expanded with the damp, and some of the ceilings show signs of falling through.

Chris said: "You can see why the whole place is sealed off. The last thing we want is for people to get in here and then hurt themselves or get lost. We have got miles and miles of dark corridors in this hospital and it would take quite a while to find them."

Since the building was closed, a group of youngsters had been caught throwing stones at the hospital buildings and two drunken people managed to crawl under the fence surrounding the hospital.

They were quickly spotted on the CCTV system monitoring the site and turned away. No one has broken into the hospital building itself.

The 27-acre Okus Road site is still owned by Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust that has successfully applied for outline planning permission for up to 500 homes on the site.

The site is currently the subject of bidding from five interested parties.

It is thought that the building will be demolished as part of the redevelopment of the site by the autumn.

In the meantime, the site has been used as an occasional training ground for Wiltshire Constabu-lary's search and rescue dog training team.

Electrician Ken White, 64, from Rodbourne, has worked at PMH for 25 years. He is now one of the team responsible for looking after the shell of the building before it is handed over to developers.

"It is quite sad to see the old place in this condition. I have spent half of my working life here, so I do feel a little nostalgic," he said.

"We are only allowed to enter here in pairs, just in case one of us gets hurt. I try not to get spooked when I am walking around here, but you do hear all sorts of noises.

"I imagine they are caused by things like the building settling and water dripping through.

"Sometimes when you open a door, another door down the corridor opens slightly because of the air pressure.

"That could unnerve some people I suppose. It is a good job I don't believe in ghosts."