The secret World War Two bunker hidden underneath an outside toilet in Devon

  • See inside the secret World War Two bunker in east Devon

An historian has revealed the long-hidden secrets of a World War Two wireless bunker nestled deep in the East Devon countryside.

Andrew Chatterton, from Budleigh Salterton, has been researching the secret defence networks of the British resistance set up in preparation for a German invasion.

The secluded entrance to the bunker near Axminster, which is hidden underneath an outdoor garden toilet, can only be accessed by turning a latch underneath what appears to be a utlity cover a few feet away.

"That is the release mechanism, which then allows us to pull the toilet up to reveal a totally concealed entrance," Mr Chatterton explains.

The bunker was used by the Special Duties Branch, a network of ordinary civilians who were prepared to pass on information in case the Germans attempted an invasion.

The equipment needed to pass on messages was hidden behind a false wall.

It was designed so that the first room contained only a table and chairs, in order to avoid suspicion if anyone ever found it.

The second room, containing everything that would have been needed to send information on about the Germans, could only be accessed by pulling one of the hooks on the wall.

Mr Chatterton explains: "Another release mechanism opens up the false wall, and inside there is where the wireless would have been, and everything that was needed to send the information on about the invading Germans."

"It was a disguise in itself," Mr Chatterton said. "It's just extraodinary."