A GROUP of “urban explorers” have exposed the dilapidated state of Bournemouth’s former Odeon cinema – but also revealed some of its treasures.

The team who recently shot a video of the town’s former ABC have now done the same for its near neighbour on Westover Road.

They described the Odeon – which only closed in 2017 – as in “way worse” condition than the ABC, with its foyer wrecked and the screen and seats removed from its main auditorium.

However, they documented some of the original, Renaissance-style features which were covered up when the 1929 building was converted into two screens in the 1960s.

Nathan Scullard, who posted video footage to his YouTube channel Tazer Urbex, surveys the cinema’s foyer in the video and says it is “way worse” than the ABC.

“It looks pretty trashed. Look at the stairs. It’s falling to pieces,” he said.

However, the explorers – who say they never break into properties – found the Italianate murals and decorations that were part of the original 2,300-seater auditorium when the cinema opened as the Regent Theatre 90 years ago.

“The original features still being left here is just absolutely amazing,” said Mr Scullard.

The Regent – which later became the Gaumont, then the Odeon – was one of the last major cinemas built before the Renaissance style gave way to the Art Deco of the 1930s.

James Weir of Bournemouth Civic Society, who saw the murals and elaborate plasterwork for himself in 2016, has said planners must not let them be destroyed.

He previously told the Daily Echo that “there is no building in Bournemouth designed in a comparable Italianate style”.

He wrote: “The Bournemouth Regent, as the most significant expression of the American style of extant cinemas, therefore stands out as perhaps the last original design of this style.”

Mr Scullard and his fellow urban explorers – who go by the names Abandoned Explorer, What You After, Abandoned Seekers and the Bearded Explorer – examined the ornate plasterwork that decorated the top of the stage and auditorium but was later hidden by a suspended ceiling.

Mr Scullard says in the video: “This will probably be the last time you see a video on this place because I think I’ve pretty much checked out every nook and cranny of that place. I don’t think there’s anything left.”

Libra Homes bough the former Odeon, along with the nearby ABC building, for more than £6m when the cinemas closed to make way for the town’s new Odeon multiplex at BH2 in 2017.

In May this year, Libra Homes revealed its latest plans for an eight-storey development of shops and homes on the site, after two previous applications were rejected.