Painted with cartoon characters and strewn with moss, these are the crumbling remains of a psychiatric hospital which has lain derelict for 15 years. Upturned chairs and tables are strewn across the waterlogged floors of Mid Wales Hospital, which was a secluded home for mental health patients in the Brecon Beacons for almost 100 years. Opened in 1903, it was designed to be self-sufficient with private water, electricity, heating and sewerage systems, along with a farm where patients - many of whom were misunderstood and would never be allowed to leave - grew their own food. Scroll down for video . Deserted: Mid Wales Hospital cared for mental health patients for almost a century, but it is now waterlogged and strewn with moss . History: There are still cartoon characters on the walls of the hospital, which shut 15 years ago thanks to its isolated location . Rubble: Owner Phil Collins tried to demolish the £720,000 hospital site three years ago, but national park chiefs refused to give consent . Unnerving: One of the abandoned rooms at the hospital, which opened in 1903 and was arranged in an unusual symmetrical pattern . But it lost out in NHS restructuring because of its isolated location near the market town of Talgarth, Powys, and the last ward shut in 1999. Despite the passage of time and two new owners, VHS tapes are still left spilling out of a broken cardboard box, while other images show wallpaper peeling away from the slime-covered walls. There were failed plans to turn the 11-acre site into a business park until it was sold on to developer Phil Collins for £720,000 in March 2011. His grand scheme was to build 100 houses and a care home on the site of the hospital - but Mr Collins, of Pontrilas, Herefordshire, was defeated by angry neighbours who said it would compromise the beauty of the national park. Supported by groups including Save Britain's Heritage, the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority rejected his bid to demolish the hospital two years ago and it now sits in limbo, full of asbestos. Archaic: Parts of the dirty floor are strewn with abandoned VHS tapes which have spilled out of a water-damaged cardboard box . Controversy: There were plans to turn the 11-acre site into 100 houses and a care home, but they were seen off by furious neighbours . The doctor will see you now: Empty chairs sit unclaimed in the old consulting rooms and offices, surrounded by moss and peeling paint . Crumbling: Parts of the Edwardian building have disintegrated since the closure of the NHS hospital, which once had its own farm . The campaigners have since taken Wales' National Assembly politicians round the site, which is now a stomping ground for urban explorers, in a bid to show how crucial it is to the nation's history. But Mr Collins has said it was 'completely mad' to prevent the hospital being knocked down - especially as it has failed to be listed by Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage. He added: 'The petition is being driven by a small group of people working together and who prepare a petition simply because they do not want something to happen. The petition is highly simplistic as it only offers one viewpoint... with no knowledge of the site.' Originally called the Brecon and Radnor Joint Counties Lunatic Asylum, the hospital was built for £126,000 and opened in March 1903. Performing the opening ceremony, Lord Glanusk reportedly said: 'Everything has been done that human ingenuity could devise for the happiness and safety of the inmates, and under the blessing of God, for their speedy restoration to health.' The hospital had residential wards, a large recreation and dining hall, kitchens, workshops and a tailor, bakery and shoe-maker. By 1914, it was one of 102 registered 'lunatic asylums' across Britain, many of them beautifully-designed Victorian buildings. Theatrics: The fully-functional psychiatric hospital once cared for hundreds of patients and has a stage on which they could perform . Eerie: The brickwork is exposed in the corridors, left to rack and ruin as developers tried first to build a business park, then 100 homes . Ramshackle: The hospital was under the control of the NHS for 51 years, bringing with it art, occupational therapy and mixed-sex wards . Messy: The hospital was also home to the Mid and West Wales College of Nursing and Midwifery and an alcohol and drug abuse clinic . The Brecon asylum was even noted for its large windows, which gave patients wide views over the beautiful Welsh countryside. But Britain's attitude to mental health was far from idyllic - with fewer than half of patients being discharged from 'asylums', with many misunderstood by the authorities or given controversial treatments such as electric shock therapy. In 1948 the hospital became part of the newly-formed NHS, bringing with it art, occupational therapy and the integration of the sexes, who had occupied opposite sides of the symmetrical complex. The site also became home to the Mid and West Wales College of Nursing and Midwifery and the Powys Drugs & Alcohol Council for substance misuse. When the derelict building was given a reprieve, Save Britain's Heritage President Marcus Binney said: ‘The nation’s disused mental hospitals have been the focus of one of our longest and most sustained campaigns. 'Many were designed by leading architects, very well-built of very excellent materials and sited on south-facing slopes to enjoy maximum fresh air and sunlight. All over Britain, one developer after another has proved they can be successfully converted.’ Snub: Despite protests by history-lovers, the building failed in its bid to be listed by Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage . History: The hospital pictured in the days when it was fully operational. It was built to afford wide views over the Brecon Beacons .
There were failed attempts to turn derelict Mid Wales Hospital in Brecon Beacons into homes and a business park .
It opened in 1903 and was one of more than 100 'lunatic asylums' in Britain - but lost out because of rural location .
Crumbling building littered with moss, debris and VHS tapes has since become a stomping ground for explorers .
Painted with cartoon characters and strewn with moss, these are the crumbling remains of a psychiatric hospital which has lain derelict for 15 years. Upturned chairs and tables are strewn across the waterlogged floors of Mid Wales Hospital, which was a secluded home for mental health patients in the Brecon Beacons for almost 100 years. Opened in 1903, it was designed to be self-sufficient with private water, electricity, heating and sewerage systems, along with a farm where patients - many of whom were misunderstood and would never be allowed to leave - grew their own food. Scroll down for video . Deserted: Mid Wales Hospital cared for mental health patients for almost a century, but it is now waterlogged and strewn with moss . History: There are still cartoon characters on the walls of the hospital, which shut 15 years ago thanks to its isolated location . Rubble: Owner Phil Collins tried to demolish the £720,000 hospital site three years ago, but national park chiefs refused to give consent . Unnerving: One of the abandoned rooms at the hospital, which opened in 1903 and was arranged in an unusual symmetrical pattern . But it lost out in NHS restructuring because of its isolated location near the market town of Talgarth, Powys, and the last ward shut in 1999. Despite the passage of time and two new owners, VHS tapes are still left spilling out of a broken cardboard box, while other images show wallpaper peeling away from the slime-covered walls. There were failed plans to turn the 11-acre site into a business park until it was sold on to developer Phil Collins for £720,000 in March 2011. His grand scheme was to build 100 houses and a care home on the site of the hospital - but Mr Collins, of Pontrilas, Herefordshire, was defeated by angry neighbours who said it would compromise the beauty of the national park. Supported by groups including Save Britain's Heritage, the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority rejected his bid to demolish the hospital two years ago and it now sits in limbo, full of asbestos. Archaic: Parts of the dirty floor are strewn with abandoned VHS tapes which have spilled out of a water-damaged cardboard box . Controversy: There were plans to turn the 11-acre site into 100 houses and a care home, but they were seen off by furious neighbours . The doctor will see you now: Empty chairs sit unclaimed in the old consulting rooms and offices, surrounded by moss and peeling paint . Crumbling: Parts of the Edwardian building have disintegrated since the closure of the NHS hospital, which once had its own farm . The campaigners have since taken Wales' National Assembly politicians round the site, which is now a stomping ground for urban explorers, in a bid to show how crucial it is to the nation's history. But Mr Collins has said it was 'completely mad' to prevent the hospital being knocked down - especially as it has failed to be listed by Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage. He added: 'The petition is being driven by a small group of people working together and who prepare a petition simply because they do not want something to happen. The petition is highly simplistic as it only offers one viewpoint... with no knowledge of the site.' Originally called the Brecon and Radnor Joint Counties Lunatic Asylum, the hospital was built for £126,000 and opened in March 1903. Performing the opening ceremony, Lord Glanusk reportedly said: 'Everything has been done that human ingenuity could devise for the happiness and safety of the inmates, and under the blessing of God, for their speedy restoration to health.' The hospital had residential wards, a large recreation and dining hall, kitchens, workshops and a tailor, bakery and shoe-maker. By 1914, it was one of 102 registered 'lunatic asylums' across Britain, many of them beautifully-designed Victorian buildings. Theatrics: The fully-functional psychiatric hospital once cared for hundreds of patients and has a stage on which they could perform . Eerie: The brickwork is exposed in the corridors, left to rack and ruin as developers tried first to build a business park, then 100 homes . Ramshackle: The hospital was under the control of the NHS for 51 years, bringing with it art, occupational therapy and mixed-sex wards . Messy: The hospital was also home to the Mid and West Wales College of Nursing and Midwifery and an alcohol and drug abuse clinic . The Brecon asylum was even noted for its large windows, which gave patients wide views over the beautiful Welsh countryside. But Britain's attitude to mental health was far from idyllic - with fewer than half of patients being discharged from 'asylums', with many misunderstood by the authorities or given controversial treatments such as electric shock therapy. In 1948 the hospital became part of the newly-formed NHS, bringing with it art, occupational therapy and the integration of the sexes, who had occupied opposite sides of the symmetrical complex. The site also became home to the Mid and West Wales College of Nursing and Midwifery and the Powys Drugs & Alcohol Council for substance misuse. When the derelict building was given a reprieve, Save Britain's Heritage President Marcus Binney said: ‘The nation’s disused mental hospitals have been the focus of one of our longest and most sustained campaigns. 'Many were designed by leading architects, very well-built of very excellent materials and sited on south-facing slopes to enjoy maximum fresh air and sunlight. All over Britain, one developer after another has proved they can be successfully converted.’ Snub: Despite protests by history-lovers, the building failed in its bid to be listed by Cadw, the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage . History: The hospital pictured in the days when it was fully operational. It was built to afford wide views over the Brecon Beacons .
across the waterlogged floors of Mid Wales and strewn with moss . History: There are still at the hospital, which opened in 1903 and was it lost out in NHS restructuring because of its were failed plans to turn the 11-acre site into a floor are strewn with abandoned VHS tapes which a stomping ground for urban explorers, in a bid registered 'lunatic asylums' across Britain, many build a business park, then 100 homes .