By Sophie Watson

A mum was 'shocked' to discover her garden had been hiding a 50m secret underground passageway for the last 12 years - believed to be an elaborate 'air raid shelter'.

Rebecca Hobson, 34, unearthed the giant tunnel buried under a paving slab with her partner Darren, 34, after neighbours suggested there may be 'something in the garden' dating back to the Second World War.

And, after getting bored in lockdown, the couple, who live in a village near Folkestone, decided to search their back garden to see if the claims were true and to their amazement discovered the opening to a 1m-wide tunnel.

Astonishing walk-through footage shows steps leading down into the shelter to reveal a 'damp' passageway.

Rebecca, who moved into the three-bedroom terrace house 15 years ago, said the pair uncovered the unique building during the pandemic in 2020 but didn't start digging it out until last year.

And earlier this month, after deciding to share photos and footage of the air raid shelter on TikTok, their videos have since gone viral and left users amazed by their suspected war-era find.

Footage shows the passage continue for around 50 metres to a dead end where the building administrator says another entrance once stood.

The mum-of-two said when they uncovered the shelter, the duo found an old toy gun and lots of 'rusty' bottles and bowls inside.

Rebecca said she is still trying to dig up the history on the wartime site.

Newspaper cuttings reveal the shelter was built by volunteers during the Second World War to hold 200 women and children during the bombings and protect them from 'the cruelties of Hitlerism'.

Rebecca said: "When we moved into the house we had no idea about the air raid shelter being in our garden.

“A few years later some of the locals said there might be something in the garden [from the war].

"We found it under a big slab in the garden and originally uncovered it in lockdown.

"People told us about there being something in our garden but we didn't want to do anything with it.

"It was only when we were in lockdown and we were bored that we decided to look into it.

"We're still trying to dig into the history of it, but it's still really interesting.

"Our row of houses were built in the seventies and so we are assuming that the earth they dug out for the foundations [for these houses], covered up the tunnel.

"All we know about the shelter at the moment is what we have been able to find out from some newspaper clippings.

"The shelter was built for all the mothers and children in the village to use.

“When we opened the shelter for the first time we found a toy gun in there and lots of rat traps and rusty bottles and bowls.

"We thought it was going to be really small [when we first discovered it] but it was amazing and we were so shocked by the size of it.

"We thought it was going to be big enough to just fit a handful of people in but it is supposed to be able to fit 200 people in it.

"When you go into it, you go down about five or six steps. It's very cold and damp and it's then just a brick tunnel.

"The tunnel did lead to the end of the road to the edge of my neighbours garden but they were worried that they might get rats so they blocked their side up so you can only get in from our garden now."

Since discovering the wartime shelter, the couple said they have cleaned out the passageway and added lights to it but don't want to alter the building anymore as they want to maintain its history.

Rebecca said her children were very excited to go inside wartime shelter and has since asked the local schools if they want to come and visit.

Rebecca said: "We've swept it all out as it was really mucky inside and we've added some lights inside so people can see inside.

"We don't want to really change anything about it as it's an amazing part of history.

"We've asked the local school if they want to come and visit it and show the children.

"I feel very privileged that we have this bit of history in our garden.

"My son thinks it's amazing and was very excited about it and has been telling his friends about it at school."

Since posting about the air raid discovery on TikTok, the video has been viewed by 390,000 people and users were quick to ask questions about their unearthing.

One user said: "Amazing. If only walls could talk."

Another added: "I wonder how many lives that [air raid shelter] has saved?"

A third said: "I'm intrigued to know and see what's past the end there. Does it open out? Does it lead to another exit?"

A fourth added: "It's amazing that these tunnels and air raid shelters are still being discovered."