WWII 'Ghost Village' Open To The Public

A man walks out of a doorless house, as his daughter looks through a window with no glass.

This is the so-called "ghost village" of Imber in Wiltshire, a former farming community before it was evacuated in 1943 and turned into a military training area.

Easter weekend is one of the few occasions the public are allowed into the village, which has been uninhabitable for more than 70 years.

Around 150 locals were given 47 days' notice to find new jobs and homes before having to leave Imber in December 1943, never to return.

Jane Paget's great-grandfather was the local blacksmith.

She says he never recovered from the evacuation, dying six weeks after the move.

She returned to the village to lay flowers on his grave, and told Sky News many other former residents shared her great-grandfather's pain.

"There was devastation of their lovely little village, this was thatched cottages and to see it ruined, I don't think my gramps was the only one who had a broken heart," she said.

Although a difficult move, many of the former residents saw it as doing their bit for Britain during the war.

Neil Skelton, honorary custodian of Imber Church, said: "A whole community was sacrificed for the war effort, and indeed that's what the villagers thought they were doing. Of course, they thought they were going to come back."

The village is still an active military training site, boasting tanks and signs warning that unexploded debris litters the route in.

Imber is open to visitors throughout the Easter bank holiday weekend.