By Bunmi Adigun @Bunmi_Adigun

A SMALL village that dates back to the 1500s is on the verge of becoming a ghost town after years of abandonment and neglect

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The old village dates back to the 1500s

Located north-west of Antwerp, the eerily quiet town of Doel, Belgium, has seen its population dramatically decrease in the last two decades.

At its height in the 1970s, Doel had a population of around 1,300 but this number has now fallen to only 25 as residents have opted to move out of the area which is also home to a nearby nuclear power plant.

Doel has been under threat of becoming completely abandoned in the past few decades

One of the main causes for the decline in the village, which has now become a canvas for artists around Belgium, is the expansion of Port of Antwerp.

Many of the residents in the town worked at the nearby nuclear power plant

Situated next to the port, which is one of the biggest in Europe, the village has been under threat of demolition by the government for years as the port continues to grow.

Graffiti artists from around the world have flocked to the village

Photographer Ioanna Sakellaraki, 26, took the pictures on a May 2017 visit to the area which has been battling with the local government for years to halt demolition plans.

Photographer Ioanna Sakellaraki took the pictures on a recent visit to the town

She said: “I wanted to visit the village as there has been a lot of media coverage regarding residents who have left due to the threat of having their homes demolished."

At its height the village had a population of around 1,300 it has now fallen to just 25

Despite continued requests made by the government, the remaining residents of the village are choosing to ignore them and are instead protesting against the port’s expansion by continuing to live in their houses.

Although the future of the town seems bleak, the tenuous situation surrounding it has attracted graffiti artists from around the world transforming it into an unlikely paradise for artists.