Stark images show deserted Scots 'ghost town' estate dubbed 'mini Beirut'

The area's population has plummeted in recent years.placeholder image
The area's population has plummeted in recent years.

A series of shocking images shows a mostly deserted Scottish estate that has been labelled one of Britain's last ghost towns.

Once home to hundreds of shipyard workers in the early part of the 20th century, Port Glasgow's Clune Park estate now has fewer than 25 people living in a handful of its 430 flats and has been dubbed 'mini Beirut' by one local resident. Property on the partially abandoned estate, which has suffered from arson and vandalism over the years, was once the cheapest in the UK, with one flat selling for just £7,000 at auction. Leader of Inverclyde Council, Stephen McCabe, said: "It is a decimated, isolated community. It is a blight on the landscape. It is one of first things you see coming into Port Glasgow on the train. It would remind you of somewhere like Chernobyl."

In the 1920s Clune Park estate housed hundreds of shipyard workers during the area's golden age of shipbuilding.placeholder image
In the 1920s Clune Park estate housed hundreds of shipyard workers during the area's golden age of shipbuilding.
With rents as low as 250 for a one-bed flat, within easy reach of Glasgow, the estate has become an unlikely commuter belt for those brave enough to stay there.placeholder image
With rents as low as 250 for a one-bed flat, within easy reach of Glasgow, the estate has become an unlikely commuter belt for those brave enough to stay there.
Julie Kane, 56, pays just 250 per month for her one bedroom flat on the estate, which she described as like a 'mini Beirut' when she first moved in.placeholder image
Julie Kane, 56, pays just 250 per month for her one bedroom flat on the estate, which she described as like a 'mini Beirut' when she first moved in.
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