A PROMINENT Pembrokeshire eyesore, once an indoor offshoot of Oakwood Theme Park, will soon be no more as demolition equipment moves on site.

In its heyday Canaston Bowl, near Narberth, was a thriving bowling alley and home to the popular Crystal Maze game.

A generation of Pembrokeshire people will remember the attraction as a venue for birthday parties and school trips.

But the building, owned by Oakwood Theme Park, fell into a state of disrepair since closing at the end of 2011, with peeling paint work, overgrown bushes and a pot-holed car park.

Stephanie Dewick, working in the local hospitality industry, said just a few short years later: “It needs tidying up. It’s right next to Oakwood and doesn’t give a very good impression.

“They should invest a bit of money into it and reopen the place. All it’s doing now is rotting away, which is not a pleasant sight.”

Since then, the local eyesore has attracted a new breed of visitors, urban explorers keen to seek adventure and create nostalgia by entering the former tourist attraction.

In the last few years, the attraction of the shabby building appears to have increased in line with its dereliction, and people who go inside add to the sorry sight by causing more damage.

Police issued several warnings during the lockdown period that people were risking their safety by going into the old Canaston Bowl.

In June of 2020, Tenby Neighbourhood Policing Team issued five fixed penalty notices for breach of lockdown to people they found at the building.

A Dyfed-Powys police spokeswoman said at the time: “People are trying to enter the building out of nostalgia, and part of the urban exploring trend, with photos and videos then online.

“It is mostly young people who remember it being open, but not always the case, and we are urging people to stay out.

“The building is derelict and in a poor state of repair, and anyone entering is risking their own safety.”

Following the sighting of plant machinery at Canaston Bowl’s front car park this week, it has now been confirmed demolition work is taking place.

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have received a demolition notice for the former Canaston Bowl building from Merthyr Salvage Ltd under section 81 of the Building Act.”