Abandoned Cables Factory Becomes Urban Artists’ Playground

By on Wednesday, June 26, 2013

A group of freerunners from Liverpool turned an abandoned Prescot factory into a makeshift obstacle course and captured their stunts – and a piece of local history – on film.

Professional freerunners Urban Artists practise Parkour – a sport-cum-art-form in which athletes run, jump, bounce, roll, climb and swing their way around their surroundings – all over Merseyside, and team member Nathan Chapman suggested Prescot for their latest run.

The derelict factory on the former site of Prysmian Cables – once Pirelli, and before that the BICC, the hub of industry in Prescot – seemed perfect.

Urban_Artists_Prescot_abandoned_factory“We have done other videos, but this particular place we explored offered much more this time, as we had some obstacles to play around with,” said UA Managing Director James Harkness.

“At first we never planned on filming, as it was our first time exploring the place, but once we were inside the main building we saw lots of different opportunities.”

The team spent about 10 minutes in each spot around the factory, planning their moves before UA co-director and cameraman Luke Reece filmed multiple takes of the action.

Even with planning, however, the stunts weren’t without their risks.

“In the first part of the video, Nathan and Ryan [Froggatt] flip over a fairly decent gap, but the floor was covered in dirt and dust, so it was very easy to slip,” James told Prescot Online. “Below them was some very toxic water which had all sort of barrels and liquids in which no one wanted to fall in.”

He added: “We are very aware of the dangers in something like this and always take extreme caution.”

The team spent almost four hours in the factory, using walls, pits, staircases, balconies, tables, pillars and abandoned apparatus and machinery casing as their obstacles.

Below: The Prescot BICC site in its heyday (Alec Wallace).

bicc_history_photo

Find out more about Urban Artists:

Please note: Urban Artists are trained, experienced professionals. Please do not attempt to duplicate any of their stunts yourself.

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