Photos show network of tunnels inside old Kidderminster factory

A series of tunnels carved into the rock behind the old Carpet Manufacturing Company site in Park Lane are believed to have been used as wartime air raid shelters.

A network of tunnels carved into the rock is believed to have been used as a wartime air raid shelter

The factory has been empty for more than 20 years after Coloroll ceased trading in 1990, and developer Rob Whitehouse said most people aren't aware of the building's history.

He told The Shuttle: "There’s a lot of history here that not a lot of people know about.

"There are 12 or 13 tunnels down here, all interlinked, around 200 foot deep, and a ladder leading up to the factory floor. We’ve been told people used to come down here during the war.

"Not many people know about them because the building hasn’t been used in decades, nobody has been in here for 20 years.

There's a ladder in the tunnels leading up to the old factory floor

"I want to open up the tunnels up to the public so that schools can come and discover part of the town’s history.”

A planning application has now been submitted to turn the old factory into 22 two-bedroom apartments.

Read more:

• Plans unveiled for apartments at old Kidderminster carpet factory site

Known as the Rock Works, the building dates back to the 1880s but has fallen into a state of disrepair since the carpet factory closed down.

A planning application has been submitted to turn the old factory into 22 apartments

The building still features a top floor opening where the building was once connected by a bridge to the old Park Wharf buildings opposite

The original building was erected in 1884 for Richard Smith and Sons for the latest power chenille looms and still features a top floor opening where the building was once connected by a bridge to the Park Wharf buildings opposite, where Matalan now stands.

The factory was later extended in 1927 by the Carpet Manufacturing Company, which was formed after a merger between Richard Smith and Sons and Morton and Sons.

The factory has been mostly untouched since it closed down in 1990 and still has remnants of its carpet-making history inside

The factory has been empty for more than 20 years

If approved by the council's Planning Committee, the proposal would see the building extended upwards to create a fourth storey, while maintaining the sawtooth factory roof.

The development is expected to take three years to complete at an estimated cost of between £1.5 to £2 million.