Post by wearwolf on Aug 18, 2015 19:03:18 GMT
A father and son got more than they bargained for as they dug the garden at a property they own in Darlington – a Second World War air-raid shelter.
Keith Todd was renovating the property, in Courtlands Road, for his son, Jason, who recently got married.
Jason, 29, is setting up home in the house with his new wife, Chloe.
His father, who works as a police officer in Sedgefield, explained: "We have owned the house for six years and we have rented it out, but my son moved in a couple of years ago and got married last month.
"We thought we'd sort out the garden for him and Chloe, as it's a bit of a mess, so we were digging it up one day last week.
"There was a pond that the previous owners had built, which had been filled in with flower beds and there was a 20ft tree behind it.
"We removed the pond and the tree and were trying to bring the earth back down to ground level.
"As we tried to bring the ground back down to a manageable level, we hit a level of bricks.
"I initially thought it was the base of a brick shed, but it turned out to be a step.
"We dug a bit further down and revealed more and more downward steps.
"There were five or six steps down and then there is a right turn into an old air-raid shelter.
"We have cleared all the mud and rubble out now and it has revealed the remains of the shelter, which stands at about chest height.
"Without realising it, I have knocked off a few levels of bricks while I was digging.
"We felt we had two options — either knock it down and forget about it, or try and restore it to something approaching its former level and make it a feature of the garden."
They have chosen the latter option and are planning a sympathetic restoration of the former shelter, perhaps as a semi-underground shed or 'man cave' for Jason.
Keith added: "Jason wants to reinstate the shelter, so we are going to do that as best we can.
"I've dug down as far as I can get and I've spoken to a few neighbours who have been living in the street for a while.
"No one seems to have known it was there, but a couple of elderly people who live nearby said they remembered other houses in the area had air-raid shelters in the garden."
Source : Northern Echo, 18 Aug 2015
Keith Todd was renovating the property, in Courtlands Road, for his son, Jason, who recently got married.
Jason, 29, is setting up home in the house with his new wife, Chloe.
His father, who works as a police officer in Sedgefield, explained: "We have owned the house for six years and we have rented it out, but my son moved in a couple of years ago and got married last month.
"We thought we'd sort out the garden for him and Chloe, as it's a bit of a mess, so we were digging it up one day last week.
"There was a pond that the previous owners had built, which had been filled in with flower beds and there was a 20ft tree behind it.
"We removed the pond and the tree and were trying to bring the earth back down to ground level.
"As we tried to bring the ground back down to a manageable level, we hit a level of bricks.
"I initially thought it was the base of a brick shed, but it turned out to be a step.
"We dug a bit further down and revealed more and more downward steps.
"There were five or six steps down and then there is a right turn into an old air-raid shelter.
"We have cleared all the mud and rubble out now and it has revealed the remains of the shelter, which stands at about chest height.
"Without realising it, I have knocked off a few levels of bricks while I was digging.
"We felt we had two options — either knock it down and forget about it, or try and restore it to something approaching its former level and make it a feature of the garden."
They have chosen the latter option and are planning a sympathetic restoration of the former shelter, perhaps as a semi-underground shed or 'man cave' for Jason.
Keith added: "Jason wants to reinstate the shelter, so we are going to do that as best we can.
"I've dug down as far as I can get and I've spoken to a few neighbours who have been living in the street for a while.
"No one seems to have known it was there, but a couple of elderly people who live nearby said they remembered other houses in the area had air-raid shelters in the garden."
Source : Northern Echo, 18 Aug 2015
