Leyton’s abandoned stadium left to rot for a decade after bosses were jailed, and club entrance is now a curry house
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LEYTON FOOTBALL CLUB STADIUM was once a historic venue.
The 4,000-capacity ground played host to non-league side Leyton FC - an unrelated outfit to neighbours Leyton Orient.
But in 2009, Leyton club chairman Costas Sophocleous and former director Philip Foster pled guilty to their involvement in a £16million VAT fraud.
Sophocleous was handed an eight-year prison sentence, with Foster given five years.
Leyton found new people to carry the club forward, but were forced to dissolve in 2011 due to debts that had been accumulated.
As a result, Leyton Football Club Stadium has been abandoned for more than a decade.
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At the time of its disillusion, Leyton FC was the second oldest club in London having been founded in 1868.
And new images that have emerged of the old ground show just how desolate it has become in recent years.
Plants growing through the seats, a collapsed roof and ripped goal nets are just some of the lacklustre sights seen inside.
And urban explorer Orlando Britain, who took the photos, was damning in his assessment of the stadium's energy - adding it is unnoticeable given an INDIAN RESTAURANT is located in front of it.
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He said: "The abandoned football ground is about a mile from my house but you would never know it was there as it is surrounded by residential housing and an Indian restaurant at the front.
"It felt a little eerie and sad walking around looking at the dilapidated seats, supposedly the capacity here was 4,000.
"I kept imagining all the games that would have been played here and the fans cheering on their team. Especially looking at the Home and Away stands.
"It would be great if the stadium could be put to better use than a car park as it currently is, perhaps used for smaller clubs to play and train."
Two years ago, a campaign was launched by football fans in an attempt to bring games back to the stadium - and potentially even resurrect Leyton FC.
