Story from Jam Press (WW2 Bunker Garden)
Pictured: Liam and Catherine.
Family-of-four discover rare WW2 shelter in garden THREE YEARS after moving in
A couple were shocked to discover a Second World War shelter under their summerhouse three years after they moved in.
Catherine Milburn, 32, and husband Liam, 34, unearthed the bunker while renovating their back garden.
They believe it could be the remains of an Anderson shelter which would have been constructed during WW2.
According to the Andersons Shelters website, there are only 14 of them left in the UK.
The couple have lived in their three-bed, semi-detached house in Southwick, near Trowbridge, Wiltshire, with their children Noah, seven, and four-year-old Florence, for over three years.
And they had no idea that the bunker was in the garden until they unearthed it on Sunday (Nov 10).
"There's about a three-metre-long piece of concrete underneath a summerhouse in the garden,” Catherine told What's the Jam.
"When we were digging it out, we noticed steel bars.
"We thought it was a bit over the top for a summerhouse then we got to a corrugated iron sheet.
"I thought 'Oh my God, what have we found?'
"We kept digging. We were so excited.
"Liam and I kept going until we ran out of daylight.
"Then we found the steps.
"It's got water in it so we're going to pump it out."
The family have ditched their plans to put a garden room where the summerhouse stood as they want to preserve the shelter.
Catherine said: "It's lovely to have that history in our back garden.
"We love the idea of making use of it and we want to do something different.
"We want to get some light in there.
"I'll definitely document it as we go.
"The kids are really excited and the school want to do a trip here.
"It's so educational for them to learn about the history."
Regional manager Catherine says she and sports coach Liam fell in love with the house because it was "full of character".
It had once been the village post office.