Online trend driving urban explorer break-ins, estate owner says

The owner of a Georgian country house believes "online trends" have driven break-ins at his properties.

William Reeve, who owns Leadenham House, Lincolnshire, said a video posted on social media showing an "urban explorer" inside one of his cottages, sparked "copycat" incidents, including intruders entering his home while he slept.

Dr Kevin Bingham, an expert on urban exploring, said social media was leading some people to take it up "for the wrong reasons now and not for genuine interest in historical sites".

Lincolnshire Police said it had received three reports from the area since 11 October, including suspicious activity, a break-in at a property awaiting renovation and a burglary.

A video filmed inside cottages, which Reeve owns and said he had left locked, was posted on social media on 7 October and attracted more than 60,000 views.

He said the cottages, which are due to be refurbished, subsequently became the target of repeat trespassing by people attempting to find the locations featured in the video.

He added that four intruders then broke into his home while he was sleeping on 18 October.

"I felt immediately violated, furious and anxious," Reeve said.

"People see the video and think it's alright to go into the property. Suddenly it becomes acceptable.

"They break in, access it and call it abandoned."

Police said in the incident on 18 October, damage was caused to antique furniture, gates and a padlock, while an adjacent workshop was also broken into.

Urban exploring involves visiting and documenting abandoned, disused or rarely accessed places. This can involve trespassing, a civil matter.

However, breaking into buildings and causing damage are criminal offences.

Reeve said: "This social media trend has more ramifications than just innocent urban exploring.

"They've graduated from trespassing to breaking and entering."

Bingham, from the University of Lincoln, said social media had driven an increase in the popularity of urban exploring and "changed" it for some participants.

"What was once a niche activity, largely confined to specialist forums, is now being shared with far wider audiences on mainstream social media platforms.

"We've gone from the saying 'leave only footprints' and 'take only photographs' to a free for all.

"People think they can chop off the lock, get in there and get the content."

Bingham, the author of An Ethnography of Urban Exploration, stressed that most urban explorers were respectful.

"It's the individuals that are willing to break in and smash windows that give it a really bad name."

Zoe Angeloni, who lives in a cottage nearby, said she was disturbed by urban explorers during the incident on 18 October.

Police said five people were spotted going in and out of one empty property and running away from another, which was occupied.

Angeloni said her husband had gone outside to investigate and had torches shone into his eyes before a group of people had run off.

"It's not just breaking into these properties, it's having a knock-on impact on the community as well," Angeloni said.

Police said inquiries and footage from the incidents had offered insufficient evidence to identify those responsible.

Urban exploring content is popular across social media platforms.

According to TikTok – the platform on which the original video was posted on 7 October – the account behind it was subsequently removed for breaching community guidelines, which include not showing or promoting crime. The BBC attempted to contact the owner of the account.

One experienced urban explorer said the alleged incidents at Leadenham House did not reflect the approach of the wider exploring community.

Alistair, who is part of a YouTube channel called Urbandoned, said urban exploring should focus on documenting the history of genuine abandoned sites, rather than chasing online attention.

"We genuinely just love exploring abandoned buildings and documenting them," he said.

"We try to do it in a serious, professional and historical way."

He said members of his group would "never break into any building", adding: "It's not the right way to do it, it's morally wrong."

Social media had changed the landscape of urban exploring, with some people more interested in gaining "hits and views" than in the history of the building, he added.

"As the scene has got so popular, there are more people willing to break in and not care about the consequences."

Lincolnshire Police said it always advised people never to enter abandoned or derelict buildings, which were often unsafe and could result in serious injury.

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