West Bromwich's former magistrates court to be 'zombie escape' attraction

Leisure bosses behind the popular entertainment event are eager to take over the court building, saying its cells and layout would provide the perfect backdrop with an opening date as soon as July.

The site would be transformed into a 'horror base' with crystal maze type activities set out with the time pressure threat of being caught by a zombie.

The Grade II Listed building, in Lombard Street West, dates back to 1890 and was shut in 2011 as part of reduction in courts across England and Wales.

Bosses of business Zombie Infection say that work has already begun on the site with movable props and a tidying of the building inside.

Speaking to the Express & Star, Stefan Fletcher, owner, said: "Our vision for West Bromwich was to take it to the next level, not only as a company but as an event so we looked for a property that we could operate consistently that offers mystery but at the same time has a layout and history that aids in the storyline.

"The Cells and Courts have the exact attraction we were looking for. We are mindful of the history of the building and of its listed status, the layout is exactly what we require and for that reason we have no intention in making any alterations at all to the structure or internals of the building.

"All things we use for the experience will simply be moveable props. This is very different."

He continued: "The themes behind our sites are an apocalyptic three-hour evade type mission where "survivors" of a Zombie Virus have to last the term while completing some simple tasks. We utilise old and interesting buildings on an ad-hoc basis.

"This event is set many years after the initial infection and one of the decontamination units for the cure of the virus. We do not want to give away any of the experience, however it is based around a two hour test of nerve while working as a team to solve puzzles and processes to move onto the next stage and come to a conclusion, one large escape room would be one way to describe it while having the fear of a zombie attack."

The event is designed around a maximum number of 16 people and is intended to be run four times a day, with this currently being only at weekends.

An application for change of use was registered with Sandwell Council in recent weeks.

Councillor Bawa Dhallu, who represents the West Bromwich Central Ward, said: "It has been stood derelict and empty for some time now, so this may be an odd attraction but we welcome something being done with the site."