Looking down a hole in his driveway, a MAN was astonished to discover that his house was built over a World War II air raid bunker.
Simon Marks thought he had driven onto a flowerbed when his car wheel buckled.
But as he looked more closely, he saw that a two-room shelter was partially hidden by the driveway of his £400,000 house.
The 37-year-old IT support professional said: “There was a significant gap. I thought it was a sinkhole, or a badly planned garden.
“My only fear was that the house might collapse completely. I texted my father a few of my own photos.
After moving a few of the stones, I found a ladder. The opening where I could see two rooms was where I stuck my selfie stick.
“My dad knew right away that it was an air raid bunker when he saw it.
From what we could find on Google, there seem to be a good number in this area. It is made of concrete lintels and is in excellent shape.
Simon, a native of Luton, Bedfordshire, believes the bunker may have been built during a German bombing raid in the vicinity of the house during World War II.
He found it one Saturday afternoon and thinks it’s around ten feet deep.
The seller of the home was an elderly couple who had constructed the house in the 1970s.
Simon said, “It must have been known by the previous owner, who filled it in when he built the house and added a garden.”
The fact that it stayed there until the hatch collapsed showed how unconcerned he was about it. I want to remove it and keep it because I believe it’s great and if it’s structurally sound.
It’s incredible to think that everything was made by hand. Given that it is a remnant of our past, it should be maintained.
Although the mud-filled shelter was nearly full, there were still a few additional items within, like glass bottles and old newspapers.
Simon and his 67-year-old father Gerald have been excavating the shelter with buckets since Saturday.
They are nearly halfway down Simon’s front garden, where they have accumulated a lot of mud.
Dig, dig, dig has been the mantra since Saturday, according to Simon. We are currently around five feet below the surface; there are just five feet left to go till it is finished.
“I think we’re going to have to bring in a skip because there is so much trash to get rid of.”
Bricks have been used to close off a wall. I’m 90% confident we won’t find any more chambers, but we’re not positive.
It would have been possible to brick up a wall to make space for the foundations when the house was being built. If so, we will have to part with it.Activate the Video
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