A father was astounded when he discovered a shocking room concealed beneath his house that he had no idea existed.

After relocating into the pre-1900s house with his wife Kimberley Jane in 2015, Ben Mann couldn’t believe his luck when he found a secret staircase leading to an old basement.

The couple had no idea the secret room existed until they saw damaged floors and decided to look into it.

When the couple discovered the underground cellar was filled with water and rubble, Ben, 39, opted to put it on the backburner while restoring the rest of the house.

Ben, a sign maker, explained, “There were some issues with rotten floorboards, and the person I bought the house from wouldn’t let me explore any further until we had moved in.

“I had an incline something was hidden underneath after noticing a lot of the houses on our street had cellars and steps leading down.

“I took a gamble and guessed where the stairwell would be and managed to cut the hatch out and found a flooded cellar.

“It was in terrible condition; there was a foot of water and rubble. It was rotting the floorboards and joists so I had to replace all of them. I saw it as an exciting bonus despite the fact it needed a lot of work.”

When renovation on the hidden room finally started, the couple opted to turn the ancient cellar into a cutting-edge home theater and playroom for their one-year-old daughter Bella.

They spent £4,500 to turn the decaying cellar into a home cinema, replete with a custom-made seat, projector, and bar.

Ben said, “I shopped around and used a lot of secondhand materials. I made my own system to pump out the water so I’ve managed to save a lot of money by doing the work myself. The work started in October 2020 but was only recently finished as it was an ongoing project.

“There’s a large l-shaped lounger, shelving racks, popcorn machine, sweet vending machine, a mini-fridge, a projector, and a bar area. It’s around 12 square meters and a fully functioning room which we’re happy we discovered.”