FROZEN IN TIME

Spooky chateau lies abandoned in the French countryside with paintings strewn on the floors and animal heads left behind 

•  A photographer from Le Havre took these stunning images in northern France of an abandoned mansion
•  'France has an architectural heritage that is most impressive and I find it pitiful to see it die away,' he said

A spooky statue with half its face missing is among the creepy items found in an abandoned mansion in the French countryside.

The haunting pictures show how belongings have been strewn around in the bedrooms and art has been taken from the walls and dumped on the floor. 

Another image provides insight into the owner's hobbies as a dusty piano takes pride of place in a room surrounded by brightly coloured sofas.

Faceless horror: This bust may be a priceless antiquity but to most onlookers it is simply creepy

It is one of a series of oddball items found inside the mansion, which is somewhere in northern France

The images were taken by a photographer from Le Havre in northern France, who calls himself Urbex, but he has refused to reveal its secret location for fear of encouraging ghoulish treasure hunters.

Urbex said: 'I like discovering little hidden treasures that most people do not know about or do not take the time to admire.

'France has an architectural heritage that is most impressive and I find it pitiful to see it die away.  

'Once I'm inside the place I try to soak up the atmosphere that reigns there and then I try to portray this feeling into my images.'

Art is dumped on the floor, a suitcase lies on the bed, along with curtains and lampshades. The room's history is a mystery

The owner of the mansion was obviously something of a hunter, because the skulls of various wild beasts adorn one wall

The mansion is clearly an impressive building with ornate staircases and tiling

The owner of the mansion has left behind an old grand piano, complete with some rather worn-out but colourful sofas

The owner clearly had fairly eclectic tastes, with the greatest example being this spooky statue

Little is known of the mansion's history or its owner but they were obviously at one time fabulously wealthy

In the winter the mansion is presumably cold and very hard to heat, which may explain why it was abandoned

The outside of the mansion is overgrown and unkempt but it is easy to imagine the chateau being refurbished and turned into a luxury hotel