An escape room is coming to a Croydon unit which had been left empty for a decade.

Exciting Escapes is set to open its biggest venue to date in the High Street, inside a unit next to Vue cinema,

Participants, working together in a team, are set a task and challenged to solve a series of clues and puzzles to complete one of several themed rooms in just an hour.

The new premises in Croydon will see a total of nine rooms opening, with the first set to be ready for the public to play in December.

Co-founder of Exciting Escapes, David Gale said: “People love escape rooms but there’s nothing in this part of south London so we will be the first in this area which is really exciting.”

The first four escape rooms will open around Christmas, with two themed around the 1950s Cold War when British intelligence capture a spy from his flat in Croydon, which needs investigating.

Another room will be set in a 1990s record shop, complete with a 90s soundtrack.

The remaining rooms will open next year, creating around 30 jobs.

It has taken 18 months to obtain and refurbish the site, and the project hasn’t been without its challenges, including restoring power and water which has been out of use for so long.

But David said it has been worth it for the end result, and he is now looking forward to welcoming the first customers through the doors after bookings went live this month.

The father-of-two, who designs all the rooms himself, said: “We can’t wait for people to try out the new escape rooms in Croydon and there is already a buzz building ahead of the opening, with lots of interest on social media about what we’re doing.

“It’s great to be able to restore a venue which has been empty for so long.”