Family uncovers hidden WWII bomb shelter under paving stone in their garden

Anyone who has bought an older house can attest to the fact that sometimes you discover items or improvements from the former owners. One United Kingdom couple uncovered an entire World War II-era air raid shelter under the yard of their Kent, England home.

The find was made by 34-year-old Rebecca Hobson and her partner Darren, and the videos they have since posted about the shelter on Rebecca’s TikTok (@bexh5) have racked up more than 2 million combined views. This one gives you a full walk down the dank but surprisingly well-preserved, 160-f00t-long tunnel (accompanied by an oddly jaunty soundtrack).

@bexh5 Finding an Air raid shelter in our garden. Part 3 – The video tour. We added the lights to save carrying torches. 😊#airraidshelters #wartime #history #england #coolplaces #fyp ♬ Good Times – Bruno Boe

As the couple tells it to Metro.co.uk, they moved into the three-bedroom home in the Kent village of Folkestone 15 years ago, and for most of that time had no idea what was buried under their garden. Over the years, they began to hear stories from locals regarding the existence of an old shelter on their property, and sure enough, in 2020 they pulled back a paving stone and found the entrance. It wasn’t until earlier this year that they fully explored it, finding an assortment of rusted bottles and a toy gun, some of which you can see in this image they shared in a TikTok slideshow:

“We thought it was going to be really small, but it was amazing and we were so shocked by the size of it,” said Rebecca.

The shelter is one long tunnel, the end of which is blocked off by rubble. According to Hobson, it once led to an exit on her neighbor’s property. As you can see in the video, the ground of the shelter is still muddy even after the couple gave it a cleaning. They have added lights along the length of the tunnel, but otherwise plan to preserve it as it was.

“We’ve asked the local school if they want to come and visit it and show the children,” said Hobson. “I feel very privileged that we have this bit of history in our garden.”

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