Homeowners who have been baffled by a plug socket in their kitchen which has refused to work since they moved in two years ago have finally got an answer.
Darren Steels and his partner moved into their new home in Nottinghamshire two years ago and often wondered why the socket at the bottom of their stairs wouldn't work.
The socket is in a great location - but without any power they have had to resort to trailing wires across the room, reports NottinghamshireLive .
Darren said: "We tried to plug things into it. It's perfectly placed for vacuuming the stairs, instead of having the cord running across the kitchen floor.”
Decorators brought in by the couple to do up the kitchen when they moved in just painted around it, and the socket did not appear to be loose or obviously broken.
Darren recently gave in and asked an electrician to take a look.
Darren said: "We had an electrician come round to do some other bits and bobs and I asked him to have a look at it."
Having confirmed the socket was not live, the electrician opened it up.
Darren, 45, a restaurant manager said: "He prised it open, and it came away from the wall."
They discovered the socket was, in fact, a secret wall safe.
Darren said: "There was just dust, fluff and a dead spider in it."
The revelation has been a hit on Twitter.
"I have a socket that doesn't work....absolutely checking it later!!" said one Twitter user.
"Thats both hilarious and sort of James Bond," said Martyn.
"I always wanted one of those as a kid," said Paul.
"Don’t store anything too valuable in there now," warned Craig. "People will know!! Brilliant idea though. Alf & Audrey had one on Coronation Street."
"I remember seeing those in the Argos catalogues in the 90’s," said Gaz. "Always wanted one."
The safe should have a key which slots into one of the the holes for the plug pins, but it was unlocked - and Darren said he didn't have the key for it.
However, he said he would be keeping the safe as it was, for "posterity".
