Tyneham village ruins shut amid safety concerns

The village which forms part of The South West Coast Path is open to the public when MoD training is not taking place

Parts of an abandoned village tourist attraction in Dorset have been closed to the public due to safety concerns.

Tyneham village was evacuated in December 1943 during World War Two and has been deserted ever since.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it had taken the decision to close some of the village after finding seven buildings appeared "to be unsafe".

The MoD said the church, school house and farm complex "are safe and remain open to the public at permitted times".

The village of Tyneham was taken over by the military in 1943

Then and now - Post Office Row was the centre of the village

Work to establish whether the buildings can be repaired and reopened is being carried out, the MoD said.

• The lost D-Day village of Tyneham

• The abandoned villages of Britain

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In November 1943 all 225 residents were told to leave within 28 days as the area was needed for military training.

The estate and village, near Wareham on the Dorset coast, had been commandeered as a tank firing range ahead of D-Day.

The residents never came back.

The village, which forms part of The South West Coast Path, is open to the public by the MoD when training is not taking place.