An investigation has begun after three young men spent the night secretly snow-boarding at the Chill Factore in-door slope - after hiding in the building until it closed.

The trio posted mobile phone footage of their stunt on social media - but left behind a £5,000 camera which they had used to film the escapade.

Managers at the Trafford Park attraction beside the M60 have confirmed they have now started an investigation.

The incident began on Saturday night as the staff prepared to close the slope for the night.

Video posted online appears to show two young men enjoying a drink in a bar at the venue just before it was due to close.

One then announces ‘we’re going to go hide’.

In another clip timed at just after midnight, they appear to be hiding in part of the building. In the next shot, he shows two others who had been part of the same stunt enjoying the slope.

The young man tells the camera: “Guys, it has happened again and this time it is madder than ever before.”

Running up the snow, he says ‘we are currently, and have been all night, at the biggest in-door ski slope in England’ before describing how they have helped themselves to snow boards and inflatables to enjoy themselves.

The footage shows his friend sliding down the slope while, in another shot, the mobile phone camera pans around to a clock which shows it is 6am.

It means they appear to have had the run of the slope for up to six hours.

Later, they are seen making their way from the complex, having apparently tricked a security guard into letting them go.

In a subsequent clip while driving home through Birmingham, one of the men says: “Right now we’re having a disaster. We’ve just got back to Birmingham from a two hour drive from Manchester after hitting the ski slope after blagging the security guards - wait ‘til you see the video. We blagged the security guards hard. And now they’re all going to be there knowing we weren’t supposed to be there.

“The ski slope’s all messed up. Not broken but messed up because we were sliding down it at night and (my friend’s) just realised that he’s forgot his camera. He’s left a five grand camera in the ski slope and (sighs) complete disaster.”

The team appear to be behind a similar stunt at Snozone, another in-door slope in Milton Keynes.

A Chill Factore spokesperson said: “We are aware of the incident and it is currently being investigated.”