A man from York has discovered a rare World War Two bunker buried underneath his garden after a casual remark from his neighbour alerted him to the underground air raid shelter

James Fox and Robert Bunn moved into their home on Heworth Road, York, in 2016 – but it was only after a neighbour asked if they had found the secret WWII bunker in their garden that they went looking for the shelter.

James said they discovered the shelter – which would have been large enough to protect a family of four – had been concreted over and a rockery created on top. He said it took a day to break through the concrete with a sledgehammer and unearth the bunker.

Steep steps lead about 2.5m underground to the concrete-lined shelter.

James Fox emerging from his subterranean bomb shelter on Heworth Road, York(Image: © Iona Miles)

York Civic Trust’s Raids Over York project launched last year urged people with air raid shelters in their gardens or yards to get in touch.

But James and Robert’s shelter appears to be one of the more unusual discoveries – given it’s depth and thick concrete shell.

James said: “There was nothing on the plans, no knowledge of anything.

“I think it was quite an unusual one – to have the skills and access to the concrete and bricks and ability to bore out the ground must have made it quite rare.

The air raid shelter has been buried in the garden for several years(Image: Rob Bunn)

“You can’t quite stand up in it, it’s less than six feet tall. We’re really interested in what it might have been used for and what it’s been used for since.

“We are absolutely keeping it and are considering changing the name of the house to make it more well-known. We are thinking about ‘bunker house’ or something.

“We have no idea what it might have been used for in the interim between WWII and now.”

James said when they unearthed the bunker it was full of water, and when it was emptied they discovered wood and tiles so he believes it may have been used for storage after the war.

He found a reference to the shelter in the book Looking Back at Heworth: A York Suburb at York Explore and is keen to learn more about its history.

Today, Tuesday August 11, marks the start of the 80th anniversaries of the WWII raids over York.