Can't delete Drupal "sites" directory/subfolders/files

I have lots of old Drupal sites I don't use anymore and am trying to get rid of them all. They're set up as subdomains created in cPanel, so for instance public_html/site1 and public_html/site2 etc. Via FTP I can delete all the contents of these directories except for the /sites directory and all the subfolders and files inside it, where I get "permission denied". Trying to change the file permissions on /sites and its subfolders doesn't work. Can I delete these directories through cPanel somewhere?

 

Thanks, I'm not sure how to access my system via SSH, but I ended up asking my hosting company to help out and they sorted it, probably doing what you suggested.

 

Hi again, actually I have now worked out how to access via SSH (via /http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/ssh/how-to-login-ssh) but it's proving difficult to

. If I log in as "root" as suggested I can't see how to navigate to the particular account I want. If I log in using the username and password of the actual account I can access the directories but trying to change the ownership gives "operation not permitted" errors. I am referring to this Drupal files page for info: /https://www.drupal.org/node/394704

 

Thanks so much I knew it was something simple like that Did this and was able to finally change the ownership of my files folder and now all is good. Cheers!