See how Jersey created secret Cold War bunker as emergency command centre in case of nuclear attack

  • ITV Channel's Pip Murrison heads underground for a rare look at how Jersey prepared for a possible nuclear attack during the Cold War

A Second World War bunker in Jersey that was repurposed amid fears of a nuclear attack has opened for a rare public visit.

The site in the capital St Helier was kept a secret for many years after it was designated the island's civil emergency centre during the Cold War.

The Government transformed the bunker in 1979 in response to the growing threat of global conflict as the United States of America and Russia escalated their deep-rooted suspicions of each other.

It led to a rise in nuclear bombs and defences with bunkers built deep right across Europe in the hope that some people could survive any potential fallout, including in Jersey.

Officials would have monitored any levels of radiation from the bunker and then broadcast public announcements if needed. Credit: ITV Channel

Tour guide Paul Lister said: "Our role here was to monitor any kind of event that happened and the amount of radiation and if necessary, warn the public over the radio.

"If a nuclear event had occurred then we were obliged to come down here and do the job, leaving our family up top so we were safe and protected and they weren't."

From gas masks, radiation suits and Geiger counters to maps and emergency procedures, the bunker has been frozen in time since it was abandoned when the threat diminished.

It is preserved by the charity Jersey Heritage and is not regularly open to visitors.