CAMELOT Theme Park has finally reached its demise as images show it being destroyed by bulldozers and diggers.

Once the land of "great nights and amazing days", it has been left to rot in recent years after its closure in 2012.

The site in Chorley, Lancashire became a desolate decay, with walls crumbling, buildings falling down and rusting rollercoasters.

Demolition is now well underway, with the parks iconic castle entrance now just a pile of bricks, according to Lancashire Live.

The park opened in 1983, paying homage to Camelot, King Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table.

The story was that Sir Lancelot's parents escaped from France to Lancashire and the knight was raised by the nymph Vivian who had taken him into Martin Mere lake as a baby.

Many families will remember enjoying the Medieval magic of the rollercoasters, rides and live jousting competitions.

Visitors will remember rides such as Knightmare, which could be seen from the M6 at Charnock Richard Services, Dragon Flyer, Caterpillar Capers, The Galleon, and Pendragon's Plunge.

The immersive Medieval experience entertained children with Merlin's Magic Shows and Birds of Prey performances, and even King Arthur jousting in the Avalon Arena.

Hit TV show Sooty & Co filmed an episode at the theme park in 1994, which saw Sooty, Sweep, Sue and presenter Matthew Corbett enjoy Camelot all to themselves.

It also proved a platform for aspiring entertainers, such as Britain's Got Talent and Chorley comedian Steve Royale.

He entertained the crowds before big showdowns as a jester for 13 years.

The owners shut the doors after almost 30 years, with owners blaming bad weather and large events like the Olympics for dwindling visitor numbers.

Urban explorer Matthew Holmes documented the destruction of the once thriving theme park in a series of images in 2019.

Decapitated statues, graffiti-covered restaurants and rusting roller coasters were all that was left amongst the overgrown vines.

Some rollercoasters such as Whirlwind were sold and relocated to Skyline Park in Germany, but others remained in the abandoned park.

Knightmare remained, but was finally dismantled in February 2020.

In 1986, the park was taken over by the Granada Group and ran alongside its now defunct sister parks American Adventure and Granada Studios Tour.

In June 1998, the park was subject to a management buyout and by 2005 Camelot's visitors had fell to just 336,204 each year.

Prime Resorts announced that the park was in receivership in February 2009, and would not reopen for the season that year.

The theme park was purchased by Story Group, a construction company based in Carlisle.

It was then leased to Knight's Leisure who ran it until its closure in 2012, when 150 staff members lost their jobs.

The site had been the victim of multiple vandalism and arson attacks over the years.

However, research in 2019 suggested the 140 acre property could fit up to 6,294 flats and be worth a whopping £793,000.

An application to build 420 houses there by owners Story Group was unanimously rejected by Chorley Council in 2014, after it was met with 261 public objections and was not permissible within the Green Belt.

A second application was announced in 2016 to build two hundred new houses, but plans for 195 homes in March 2018 were scrapped.

It is understood demolition began after fears regarding "unstable" structures at the park, with the Story Group reportedly weighing up what options they now have for the land.

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