A once-bustling neighbourhood has been reduced to a ghostly shell, now dubbed the 'Chernobyl of the UK', with barely a soul left to tell its tale.

Bargain hunters might be intrigued to find that a one-bedroom flat in the crumbling Clune Park estate in Port Glasgow, Scotland, is on the market for a mere £7,000. To combat the bleak atmosphere, an imaginary pub and chip shop have been whimsically painted onto a wall.

The eeriness of this deserted town was captured by urban explorer Backpacker Ben, who likened it to a post-apocalyptic scene. Inverclyde Council's leader, Stephen McCabe, even compared the desolation to "somewhere like Chernobyl."

Ben recounted the estate's history: "About 25 years ago, everyone left and it's been abandoned ever since. Now it looks like Chernobyl, but apparently four people still live here.", reports the Daily Star.

Originally built in 1905 to accommodate shipyard workers' families, Clune Park now stands largely vacant, with some homes appearing as if they were abruptly deserted.

Ben described the scene: "Everywhere you look, it's like a nuclear bomb or something has gone off. Everyone has fled and it's just been like this ever since."

While reports from 2022 suggested around 20 residents clung on to life in Clune Park, Ben believes only four remain today, left with no shops or facilities to speak of.

The Clune Park estate in Inverclyde is reportedly plagued with the highest number of below tolerable standard (BTS) housing, with a significant number of properties deemed unfit for human habitation, according to the local council.

Ben reminisced about a previous visit to a dilapidated area in Sunderland, where he observed "North Korea-style" fake food items and windows painted on boarded-up buildings, an attempt to make the desolate area appear less bleak.

Port Glasgow suffers a similar fate, Ben noted. "They've got fake shops to make it look better; fish and chips, The Fudgy Cafe, tobacco stores, a butcher's," he detailed.

A faux pub named the Black Bull also stands, its cheerful exterior belying the absence of any actual activity within.

Describing it as a complete ghost town, Ben lamented that everything has been "everything smashed in, boarded up, and left to rot here for the past 25 or 30 years".

In 2020, one flat within the estate was auctioned off for a mere £6,000, though it remains uncertain if the buyer ever took up residence. The estate consists predominantly of smaller dwellings, including 69 bedsits, 310 one-bedroom flats, and 51 two-bedroom flats.

Despite ongoing discussions about demolishing the development, private landlords have resisted selling their properties, thwarting Inverclyde Council's efforts to demolish the site and commence regeneration.

A spokesperson for Inverclyde Council declared: "It remains our ambition to acquire properties at Clune Park to allow for the delivery of long term regeneration of the area."

"While progress has been frustratingly slow and costly, the ambition still remains and discussions are continuing to achieve this aim at the earliest possible opportunity."

Meanwhile, Clune Park estate's condition continues to deteriorate daily, with crumbling masonry, broken windows and smashed toilets transforming the once-proud little estate into a scene straight out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare.