PICTURES: Inside Doncaster's recently demolished secret 1960s town centre nuclear war bunker

This is the amazing last glimpse of a secret Doncaster town centre Cold War nuclear bunker which has been reduced to rubble.
The perfectly preserved signals room. (Photo: Nick Catford).The perfectly preserved signals room. (Photo: Nick Catford).
The perfectly preserved signals room. (Photo: Nick Catford).

If it looks like something from a 1960s spy thriller, that's because it was - for these pictures show the amazing preserved interior for the town's Cold War HQ which would have been used by Doncaster's emergency planners in the event of nuclear war.

The building in Union Street, which has recently been demolished, was unremarkable from the outside, but inside, its 1960s fittings, fixtures and even primitive computer equipment survived intact for more than forty years.

Doncaster's Cold War HQ before its demolition.Doncaster's Cold War HQ before its demolition.
Doncaster's Cold War HQ before its demolition.
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And hundreds of people will have visited the premises over the years, unaware of the secrets hidden below.

The snaps, which were taken in 2001 by a team of enthusiasts, show where the town's most important people would have been housed and where plans would have been drawn up in the event of a conflict.

Sealed behind gas tight doors, signals operators would have used a bank of telecommunications equipment to make contact with the outside world in the aftermath of a nuclear bomb.

Members of Subterranea Britannica, an exploration group devoted to exploring the country's hidden heritage, visited the building, later Doncaster's Coroner's Court, 16 years ago.

Doncaster's Cold War bunker has now been demolished. (Photo: Nick Catford).Doncaster's Cold War bunker has now been demolished. (Photo: Nick Catford).
Doncaster's Cold War bunker has now been demolished. (Photo: Nick Catford).
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Spokesman Nick Catford said: "Doncaster Borough Control was built in the early 1960's and is located in the basement of the Coroner's Court in Union Street, Doncaster.

"Although officially still the Council's war HQ in the 1980s, it's unlikely to have been used after 1968."

During the visit, the group were given a rare peek behind the gas tight doors, later used to store coroner's files.

He added: "At the bottom of the stairs there is a small lobby with two more gas tight doors, one into the 'Administration Room' and one into the 'Signals Room'.

Former Doncaster Coroner Stanley Hooper - a familiar face to many in distressing times.Former Doncaster Coroner Stanley Hooper - a familiar face to many in distressing times.
Former Doncaster Coroner Stanley Hooper - a familiar face to many in distressing times.
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"The administration room is a long narrow room with wooden shelves along one wall stacked with coroner's files. At one end of the room a door leads into the 'Liaison and Information Room', the largest room in the bunker.

"At the far side of the room is a short corridor; on the left hand side is a cupboard containing two metal framed stretchers.

"In the middle of the ceiling is an ROC style emergency escape hatch with no obvious way of reaching it.

"The 'Signals Room' has six acoustic booths along one wall and three along another. Each booth has an individual light and switch and three of the booths have swivel chairs. Three modern computer printers are sitting in one of the booths with two 1960's teleprinters on the floor.

The building as it looked in 2001. (Photo: Nick Catford).The building as it looked in 2001. (Photo: Nick Catford).
The building as it looked in 2001. (Photo: Nick Catford).
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"From the operations room, a door leads back into the administration room and on the other side there are two doors, one into the 'scientists and reconnaissance room' and the other into the 'Conference and Controllers Room'.

"The controllers room has a second ROC style escape hatch in the ceiling and wooden shelves along one wall stacked with coroner's files. Both escape hatches lead directly into the coroner's office above with no emergency access to the outside of the building."

Bulldozers have recently reduced the building to rubble, with the bunker area filled in.

The building was known to generations of locals as Doncaster Coroner's Court, where a succession of coroners including Stanley Hooper, Fred Curtis and current incumbent Nicola Mundy oversaw investigations into unexplained deaths.

The court, used since 1994, was vacated in 2014, is now based at Doncaster Crown Court.

You can see the full report of the visit HERE