County Hall intruders footage reported to police

Police are investigating footage of intruders filming themselves inside a historic council building.

West Yorkshire Police confirmed it had been alerted by Wakefield Council to online videos that appear to show a group of men entering the Grade I listed County Hall through a window before filming inside.

One 24-minute clip shows the men inside the council chamber, former meeting rooms and staff rooms, with one climbing a ladder to the bell tower.

Details of the breach emerged as councillors discussed plans for the future of the authority's property estate at a corporate and resources overview and scrutiny committee meeting.

During the footage, one of the men says the building had been "left and abandoned" by the council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Afterwards he says: "The fact that it's open like that is insane to me, so hopefully the security teams get on that, lock it down, because it's just mad."

During the council meeting, Chad Thomas, the Reform UK councillor for Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton, told deputy leader John Thomas that the men were making out that the building was "lost and abandoned".

"They could have done anything," Chad Thomas said.

"They could have burnt it down and it could have cost taxpayers in Wakefield millions."

The deputy leader replied saying the building was still in use, and there was now 24/7 security on site.

"They claimed they went in through an open window so they didn't break and enter," he said.

"It has been reported to West Yorkshire Police who are now investigating."

The 19th Century building has a history of needing repair works, with senior councillors agreeing last week to replace the roof and spend £14m to fix ceilings at risk of collapse due to leaks.

The council announced a temporary closure of County Hall in 2022, blaming soaring energy costs required to heat the building.

The building is still used to hold monthly full council meetings but is now mostly unoccupied, apart from the ground floor and archive storage areas in the basement.

County Hall was home to the West Riding of Yorkshire County Council from 1898 until 1974, when the new West Yorkshire County Council inherited the building.

Wakefield Council acquired it in 1987 after the county council was abolished the previous year.

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