We go behind the scenes inside Wolverhampton's famous Beatties building - this is what we saw

Care needs to be taken when walking along the muddy floorboards. 

The bracing wind whistles through the gaps in the famous leaded arched windows, the walls are stripped to the bare brickwork. 

Only the old signs for the ladies' cloakroom and the employee of the month competition provide a tell-tale about this building's former glories.

It seems incredible to think that little more than four years ago, this vast empty space would have been buzzing to the throng of Christmas shoppers, the tills jangling as people grabbed their last-minute bargains. 

We're standing on the second floor of the former Beatties department store in Wolverhampton, in what would have been the clothing department until the doors closed at the start of 2021. What a difference a few years make.

We're the first media team to be invited inside the famous building by Hiten Raghwani, director of the London-based Eden group which bought the building a year ago, following the collapse of a previous developer.

Concerns have been raised - including by Wolverhampton Council - about the amount of time the building has lain empty, but Mr Raghwani insists people will see progress soon.

"We're still carrying out engineering research, but once all that has been completed, we expect to start work in June," he says.

"It will then be about 24 months before the first phase is completed, and the apartments go onto the market."

Despite his recent clash with Wolverhampton Council - which saw the authority threaten the company with prosecution over the state of the building - Mr Raghwani is full of praise for the speed with which planning permission was granted.

"In London, the process would be six or seven months, but in Wolverhampton it was granted in 28 days," he says.