How tensions between Trump and King Jong-un are set to spark a bidding war over £35k Kent nuclear bunker
It's 3 metres underground, has walls a foot thick, and could save your life. Inside the bomb-proof bunker in the Home Counties about to go on the market
WITH peeling paint, no natural daylight and only 14 square metres of living space, it certainly doesn't seem like the sort of property that'll spark a bidding war.
Yet a bomb-proof bunker in Kent is about to go on the market for £35,000- and the seller thinks he'll be inundated by buyers keen to protect themselves if the worst happens.
Jonathan Riley, 42, is selling his bunker, which will allow the buyer to wait out any conflict for as long as their food and water supplies allow.
Buried three and a half metres below ground, it has 30cm-thick walls which can cut radiation levels inside the bunker by a factor of 5,000:1.
A layer of reinforced concrete would protect its occupants from almost any blast, and a 240v electrical system means the lights can stay on long after the rest of the world goes dark .
If you scarpered down the protected hatch quickly enough to dodge the radiation poisoning, this property could save your life.
The poky shelter is one of around 900 viable bunkers left behind by the UK Warning and Monitoring Organisation, a civilian agency whose purpose was to collect data on fallout in the event of a nuclear war.
Established in 1957 in a climate of Cold War panic, the UKWMO's collection of bunkers fell into civilian hands after the agency was scrapped in 1992.
But now nuclear panic is back on the agenda and, thanks to barbed war of words between President Donald Trump and North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un, the bunkers are back in high demand.
Specialist property site tells Sun Online that Brits are going mad for the safe havens, which can sell for tens of thousands in a matter of days - despite their often run-down states and macabre vibes.
Jonathan's unassuming bunker, the latest on the market, is big enough for around three people to wait out the apocalypse in, tucked away near the town of Hawkinge in Kent.
Like many UKWMO bunkers, it's a little on the snug side and in dire need of a lick of paint but, built in 1972 as one of the organisation's final posts, it's in marginally better condition than many of the other shelters scattered up and down the country.
The site reports that last year, UKWMO Burscough (pictured), near Wigan, was bought for an undisclosed price after just seven days on the market.
Earlier in 2017, UKWMO Ticehurst, in Wadhurst, shifted for £14,995 and a post in Machynlleth, Powys, changed hands for £18,000 - despite being neglected since 1991.
Before then, UKWMO Ashwell, in Hertfodshire, shifted for an offer over £20,000 at its first viewing.
And one of the biggest WMO bunker sales, set to be smashed by Jonathan's listing, came in 2016, when UKWMO Penshurst, in Kent, fetched £29,950.
Jonathan told Sun Online: "I'd always had a notion of how fun it would be to do it up - and make it functional in case the worst ever happened - but sadly we never got there with it.
"Now I don't have the time to do what I want to do with it. But it's a great spot because you can stand there and see France from it on most days. The views are truly spectacular.
"That's one of the reasons why we bought it in the first place - because of its location and absolutely incredible views. If you did have to survive the apocalypse, at least you'd come out to nice countryside views afterwards.
"It's perfectly possible to do it up for a family of three. It's got air vents and fans to pull the air through. You could happily survive in there and the radiation wouldn't get you."
The poky little shelter isn't a patch on the MoD's own network of nuclear bunkers, including the Cold War-era haven near Corsham where the PM would have been ushered in the event of a deadly strike.
Although Corsham no longer factors into the UK's nuclear defence plans, there is believed to be a warren of nuclear shelters beneath London, where top officials would be able to wait out atomic annihilation.
The poky bunkers, which are dotted all over Britain, were originally designed to act as nuke-proof monitoring stations for WMO staff in the event of a nuclear attack.
From these havens, survivors would have charted radiation levels and alerted the public to nuclear fallout, while doubling up as a post-apocalyptic met office.
But the disbanding of the organisation meant civilians can get hold of the unused bunkers, paying thousands for a tiny place in the country which could one day double up as a place in the radioactive wasteland.
Many have been vandalised or flooded, leaving fewer than half of the 3,000 posts built for the WMO in viable condition with working power and intact walls.
It is not known how much they would have originally cost to build, but owners who are sitting on functioning shelters can expect a tidy sum - usually around £20,000 - for selling even a modest bunker.
In Jonathan's case, he had originally hoped to do up his run-down bunker with his dad.
But after the pair bought it in 2003, his dad sadly passed away - and Jonathan's interest in the countryside shelter faded.
Now, he's offering someone else the chance to buy themselves a ticket to survive the end of the world - and based on past interest, people will be queuing up to take it off his hands.