Mystery over hole in Brandon car park

A MYSTERIOUS underground expanse which opened up in a popular pub car park has left staff in suspense over its original use.

Speculations are rife in Brandon after the cavernous underground bunker opened up at the back of the Flintknappers Pub on Market Hill.

Theories range from a second world war bunker to a former cellar but what is clear is that what was once a timber and stone room lies beneath the current expanse of concrete.

Landlord Peter Okota, who has run the pub with his son Raymond for the past seven years, discovered the hole on Friday after the wheel of a customer's car became lodged in it.

Contractors were called in to make the scene safe, and they widened the hole to discover a vast empty expanse. Looking down the hole, which appears to be about nine feet deep, it is possible to see a wall to the right and to the back, with timber on the floor, which was once believed to form the ceiling, and a hatch or door across the room to the left.

There is also a concrete or timber pillar to the back of the room and what looks like electrical wiring.

“We don't know if it's a bomb bunker of an old cellar but I was told there were a row of cottages there so there could well be a row of cellars,” said Mr Okota, 53.

“The pub was built in the 1920s I believe and before then there was a pub called The Eagle on the same site which was demolished. “I've also been told the landlord during the second world war was the air raid patrol (ARP) man. Everybody's got their own little story and I want to find out more but we'll have to open it up.”

The hole will now be widened on Sunday afternoon to allow more of an examination and Mr Okota will then decide the next course of action.