A Highland cottage formerly owned by Jimmy Savile has been left to rot four years after it was sold at auction.
The once idyllic home nestled in Glencoe in northern Scotland was raided by police following the disgraced TV presenter’s death in 2011 – and it is thought up to 20 people suffered abuse there.
The paedophile, who is alleged to have committed hundreds of historic sex crimes, bought the house in 1998 from renowned Scottish mountaineer and founder member of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team, Hamish MacInnes.
The once idyllic home in Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands was raided by police following Jimmy Savile’s death in 2011
The paedophile bought the remote cottage in 1998 from renowned Scottish mountaineer and rescuer Hamish MacInnes
Four years after it sold at auction to a couple for £212,000 – more than double the asking price – the home has been left to rot
The property, called Allt-na-reigh, was used by Savile as a hideaway until his death. Now, four years after it sold at auction to an elderly couple for £212,000 – more than double the £100,000 asking price – it has been left to rot.
And these images taken by Michael Buddle from Cheshire show how all of the windows have been boarded up apart from one that has been smashed – with opinion still divided over the future of the cottage.
The house was also white-washed after vandals wrote ‘Jimmy the beast’ on the walls and damaged a door in 2012.
Mr Buddle, 48, said: ‘Opinion is still divided as to the future of the cottage: whether to demolish, re-develop into a family home, or convert into a museum of mountaineering.
These images show how all of the windows of the property have been boarded up apart from one that has been smashed
The photographer ‘made time to explore and document its current condition, rather than to just drive past as per normal’
Savile, pictured at the home in 2008, carried out a horrific reign of abuse dating back to 1959 when he raped a girl aged 13
‘I always knew the house was there and have driven past it several times but I made time to explore and document its current condition, rather than to just drive past as per normal.
‘I didn’t actually look inside although I wish I had now. The graffiti a few years ago was awful. It was a blight on such an idyllic landscape.’
Savile’s horrific reign of abuse dated back to 1959 when he raped a 13-year-old girl, before attacks followed ‘in the corridors, canteens, staircases and dressing rooms of every BBC premises’.
Other vile crimes exposed included the rape of both a virgin teenager in a hotel and a 15-year-old work experience girl he met in the BBC canteen over a cup of tea.
Twenty one of Savile’s female victims were aged 15 or younger, the youngest being eight, while young boys – including an eight-year-old – were also preyed on by him.