Restored nuclear bunker near Pontefract sells at auction for £29,000

A restored nuclear bunker which has been used as a children's den for the last four years has sold at auction for £29,000.

The bunker, in Pontefract, was one of around 1,500 built in the 1950s to provide protective accommodation for three observers in the event of a nuclear attack.

It was painstakingly renovated by former owner Jon Graves, who fitted the small space with a bunk bed and toilet and enjoyed several sleepovers with his children.

The project featured on Channel 4’s George Clark’s Amazing Spaces.

The bunker had an auction guide price of £15-20,000, but sold for £9,000 above that top figure.

Andrew Parker, auctioneer and partner at SDL Property Auctions, said: “This is the fourth nuclear bunker we have sold at auction and, not surprisingly, they have all attracted huge amounts of interest.

“There are not that many relics still around that epitomise the threat and paranoia of the cold war era in the way a nuclear bunker can, and this one had also been beautifully restored, which makes it even more unusual.

"As auctioneers, it is wonderful to be able to help preserve and pass on a piece of history, even if it is one that harks back to a very dark era of sustained nuclear threat."

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