Down on Kirkstall Lane sits a sad-looking abandoned pub that was once the life and soul of the party.
Kirkstall Lites has lain empty for years, but at one point it was packed to the rafters with locals enjoying a pint together and maybe even a boogie.
The purpose-built pub and bar first opened as a Tetley House in the 80s, replacing the then-recently demolished Abbey and Sovereign pub. By all accounts, it was very popular with locals and was generally ram-packed with drinkers on the weekends.
However, for various reasons including the rise in the popularity (and affordability)of drinking at home, the pub eventually closed its doors for good in 2004 having suffered a long decline in the years leading up to its final shuttering.
Having lain empty for more than a decade now, it's become somewhat of a mystery to those who pass by its desolate, boarded-up exterior. Keen to discover what it was like inside, urban explorer Kyle Urbex recently made it inside.
His pictures give a unique insight into how the pub looks today, seventeen years later. From its heyday as a popular Tetley pub to the abandoned and decaying building it is today, Kirkstall Lites has definitely had a fall from grace.
Still, there are some remnants to be seen from its glory days - captured wonderfully by photographer Kyle, right down to the pictures still tacked onto the walls from years gone by.
It's not the only pub to have suffered such a fate, with neighbouring boozers the George IV and a W.M. club also closing their doors in recent years.
local photographer, Thomas Ackroyd, has said that the pub as it is now "mirrors the rest of the area round there and is looking very tatty and now the metal boards of doom have replaced the wooden ones"
That said, when Kyle managed to make his way in he said he was "surprised" to find memories of happier days still tacked on to the walls.
Speaking to Leeds Live he also registered his shock that so many of its features remained intact, such as the "stage area where CJ's music bar once hosted many happy and wild nights and bands."
Another urban explorer, who runs the Facebook page Lost Places & Forgotten Faces, also visited the pub in June and shared his not-so-positive thoughts in a post on social media:
"The place is an absolute wreck. Fire damage, weather damage and chav damage have all collaborated to transform Kirkstall Lites into a crumbling death trap.
"Under all the destruction, I could just about make out what actually looked like a once fun and vibrant establishment for locals.
"Some photographic memories of happier times are still somehow clinging to the walls, and the brickwork in parts, especially the old fireplace, is actually holding up. It won't be long now before this one is ripped to the ground. What a shame."
Take a look around the pub by exploring Kyle's images below:
Leeds legend Kevin Sinfield is set to take on his seventh and final 7 in 7 challenge this month.
The former Leeds Rhinos captain will begin 7 in 7: The Grand Finale next Sunday 27 September.
Wondering what on earth that is? Allow us to fill you in.
Sinfield will be running an ultra-marathon every day for seven days, and this time it's across the north of England including a special stop off right here in Leeds.
Not only that, but the challenge will bring Sinfield back to some of the places that have played a huge part in his rugby league career.
The route will visit all 12 English Betfred Super League grounds, starting at Hull KR before travelling through Yorkshire and eventually crossing the Pennines towards Manchester where Sinfield is from.
Here in Leeds, we can expect Sinfield to arrive at Headingley Stadium on Wednesday 30 September at 11:14am, before leaving towards Pudsey Civic Hall at 11:40am.
The challenge will then finish at Old Trafford on Saturday 3 October, where Sinfield will arrive ahead of the Super League Grand Final.
Since the first annual challenge back in 2020, Kevin Sinfield and his team have raised over £11 million for the MND community with six charities set to benefit once again from this years fundraising.
It's an amazing challenge for an amazing cause, and you can donate and find out more about the challenge here.
Good luck Kevin and the team, we know you'll smash it.
Channel 4 needs people from Yorkshire who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Have you always wondered how long you’d last in an apocalypse?
Well now's your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part.Â
The casting call simply reads: "Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?"
Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.
In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city - used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare - with no food, running water, electricity or heat.Â
Produced by The Garden - which is part of ITV Studios - for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on people from Yorkshire with the 'courage and ingenuity' to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.
Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.
Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let's prove what we're made of.
Applications close on Sunday 4 October 2026 at midnight, and you must be 18 or above, with a valid UK or ROI passport, to enter.Â
Georgina Pellant -
3rd September 2021 
