A little known network of tunnels that caused a sinkhole in the car park of a Kent Primark, date back to the Second World War, according to a local history group.
Subsidence fears forced the clothing giant to carry out emergency repairs to its store back in May.
It is the second time in three years that the ground has sunk because of the tunnels, according to the Thanet Hidden History Facebook group, which pictured them before they were secured.
The group also said the tunnels were created during the Second World War.
However, when the company that owns the shopping centre submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Defence asking for details of the tunnels and their previous usage, the Government said it held “no information” on the issue.
The network of passages was discovered when a sinkhole emerged in 2015 and led to emergency repair work being carried out, Kent Live reports. Another sinkhole appeared in May.
The Primark store re-opened at the end of July with many shoppers unaware they were walking above a hidden network of tunnels.
New photos released by Thanet Hidden History show the stone tunnels complete with stairs, brickwork and piles of rusted metal barrels.
There are a number of other wartime tunnels in the Thanet area.
The region on the Kent coast was one of the most likely sites for a German invasion during the wars and was the first part of Britain that many German bombers passed over on their way to conduct attacks.
On 24 August 1940, 500 bombs fell on the area in just five minutes.
In response, hundreds of families from nearby Ramsgate began living in a vast network of underground tunnels.
The network housed shops, canteens and even a hospital. Concerts were held to entertain the 300 or so families living underground.
The tunnels were constructed in 1939 on the eve of war. Some were converted from old railway tunnels.
