A nuclear bunker from the 1950s is to be auctioned with a guide price of £25,000-plus. The former Royal Observer Corps monitoring post near the Lincolnshire town of Louth is described as "a fantastic opportunity to buy a piece of British history".
The site was purchased on a whim in 2003 by 64-year-old Mark Colledge. He snapped it up from a telecoms firm for £12,500 after seeing an advert on the online auction website eBay.
Constructed in 1959, the bunker is accessible via a 14ft shaft and was designed to offer protective accommodation for three observers in the event of a nuclear attack. The volunteer observers in the post would have communicated the location of bombs and radiation levels to the military.
The facility in the village of Legbourne was built to the same blueprint as more than 1,500 constructed around the UK from the late 1950s, which were decommissioned in the early 1990s. Lincolnshire Live reports that the sales brochure from SDL Property Auctions reads: "The once in a generation opportunity is to buy a nuclear bunker otherwise known as a Royal Observer post.
"This particular site was one of many built in the 1950s. This site was built in 1959 and was designed to provide protective accommodation for three observers to survive a nuclear attack, they were expected to report on the nuclear bursts and report on the fall out of a nuclear attack.
"They were provided with enough food and water for fourteen days and had a land line and radio communications available to them. Most of these sites were decommissioned and sold off in 1993 and we have been informed that many were bought up by telecom companies and now are sites for mobile phone masts as they were built as telecommunication posts so they are positioned in very favourable locations.
"The bunker is secure, dry and in its original condition. SDL are also in possession of the Magic Key which opens and locks the hatch. The current owner has also placed a caravan on site. The site also has vehicular access from the road over the land to access it."
Jim Demitriou, national valuer at SDL Property Auctions, said he is very excited about selling his first ever nuclear bunker. He said: "With the cost of living crisis it's quite an interesting story to live somewhere off-grid. I'm sure someone will come up with a grand design for this bunker, or just buy it for the Hell of it."
The lot is described as 'Nuclear Bunker, (Land lying to the North West of Kenwick Hill), Legbourne, Louth LN11 8QJ.' It is being sold freehold with vacant possession upon completion. The auction is at 10am on Thursday, November 24.
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