Owners of Yarmouth's old House of Wax asked to secure site

Traders on Regent Road have raised concerns about customers turning away from entering shops as people have been sleeping in the entranceway to the former Louis Tussauds House of Wax.

It is reported the surrounding area has been used as a meeting place for street drinkers in the town.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council officers have visited the area, removing a number of tents.

The former Louis Tussauds House of Wax on Regent Road, Great Yarmouth. (Image: James Weeds) "The council’s Rough Sleeper Outreach Team has been making regular visits to the area and is aware two rough sleepers have been using the site," said a council spokesman.

"Other people who may use the location as a meeting point are not homeless."

The spokesman added the council is working on a "targeted approach to address the issue" with environmental health officers, partners and the police.

The building owners have also been contacted to secure the premises and the outreach team has kept in contact with the nearby traders.

Wax sculptures of Michael Owen and Ian Botham, previously housed inside Great Yarmouth's House of Wax. (Image: Newsquest Archives) One trader, who did not want to be named, said "more and more" people have been using the outside of the former wax works as a place to drink alcohol, argue and sleep for the night.

The trader also said business owners were afraid to ask the rough sleepers to move on as the old museum's doorway is "out of shot of CCTV cameras".

Another trader, Dennis Gavan, said he sympathised with "the young men - no older than their early 20s" - but he feared it did "put people off" entering nearby shops.

The House of Wax closed in 2012 after its owners failed to find a new buyer. Owners Jane and Peter Hayes turned the museum into a home later that year.

The museum's collection of 150 infamous wax work sculptures were sold by a private buyer in Czechia in 2014.

Louis Tussauds House of Wax closed in 2012. (Image: Newsquest Archives)