By ERIC MUNN

Last updated at 09:29 11 March 2008

The merry-go-round stands rusting and lifeless. An elaborate floral display that used to stand proudly at the front of the mansion has wilted, leaving just bare earth.

The tepees are collapsing in on themselves and a tent covering the bumper cars is falling to bits.

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What fun this must have been: The Neverland Ranch railway station. The floral clock in front of the building is overgrown. The clock has stopped, and numbers are missing

From thriller to dangerous: On what was the bumper car rink, the canopy is clearly ripped and discoloured by the harsh Californian sun. Grass verges around the rink look bare and don't appear to have been watered for months

Unless Michael Jackson can pay off part of his £160 million debts, his legendary Neverland ranch will be sold next week at auction on the steps of the Santa Barbara County courthouse - a site which will recall for him his painful 2005 child molestation trial and acquittal which left him even more of a recluse.

It would be the ultimate humiliation.

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Swings and roundabouts: Once fun-filled, now no MJ, no Bubbles and not even Billie Jean come to the carousel

Beat it: There's no one left to play braves and squaws at the Red Indian village. A model horse stands but the sun-bleached tepees are falling down

The superstar bought the 2,800-acre fantasy home in the rolling hills of Santa Ynez valley in 1987 for £11.3million.

He was at the height of his career. Children would be invited over to the estate to play and music boomed out of speakers.

The annual upkeep for the property was estimated to be a staggering £2million and during its heyday 54 full-time paid staff manned the estate.

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Bad to worse: An enclosure which once held part of Michael Jackson's collection of exotic animals lies disused, the water gone stagnant

Off the wall: The only colour is the tennis court - it's as if a forest fire has swept through once-green Neverland, but the cause is neglect

Moonwalk might not be far off the mark in this blasted, dusty landscape, once bustling with happy children

All of them have since been let go, with the estate run by around half-a-dozen friends and relatives of Jackson.

Michael Jackson's home Neverland is in a state of disrepair

Jackson deserted the property in July 2005, when he was cleared of the child molestation charges, and fled to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile authorities in Santa Barbara ordered Neverland to be closed down after the star failed to pay his employees or keep up his insurance payments.

Since then the dream park has been left to rot.

The ranch was once famous for its zoo, stocked with elephants, giraffes, lions and monkeys. But the exotic animals have gone to other homes.

Jackson's pet monkey - Bubbles - is in a sanctuary and the horses are at a children's riding school.

It is a pitiful reflection of the demise of the one-time King of Pop.