I'm just off to dig the garden...

Retired civil servant creates network of caves at his home

- JAMES CONNOLLY

FROM the front, Francis Proctor's home looks totally normal to passersby. But it has hidden depths.

He has spent nearly 30 years digging a labyrinth of caves 20ft below his back garden.

Francis, 76, used spades and shovels to hand-dig the network of caverns and tunnels.

The retired civil servant and photographer now regularly opens the garden to the public.

He said: "When we bought the house more than 50 years ago, I wanted to have an underground room that I could travel down to from the garden.