Volunteers working to restore Mundesley gun battery

Now, a team of volunteers is working to reopen the 4,843 square-foot site to the public.

The work, led by community group Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill, began last month.

Trustee, Denise Revell, said: “The long-term plan is to open it up to the public and perhaps convert it into some sort of museum.”

It took days to break through the concrete (Image: Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill and Coastal Gun Battery)

The group had to hire a digger to break through the entrance (Image: Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill and Coastal Gun Battery)Built to defend Britain’s coastline from possible invasion, gun batteries were equipped with heavy artillery to target enemy ships and aircraft.

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Mundesley’s battery once housed two ex-naval six-inch guns and was part of a wider network of coastal defences during the war.

It was closed after being deemed dangerous, with children playing inside and water filling the underground rooms.

It took five days of work to break through the concrete blocking the main entrance and allow volunteers to enter for the first time in decades.

Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill campaigners Bev Reynolds (r) and Denise Revell (Image: Denise Bradley) Trustee, Pete Revell, said: “It's a big task because when they decided to close it up permanently, they poured concrete into the doorways.

"It took two weeks to get all the concrete out and make a proper doorway so we can now go down and investigate.”

Inside, they found three to four feet of water, rubble, and rubbish dumped over the years.

The team plans to pump the water out before clearing the space, which still contains the metal frames of wartime beds once used by soldiers stationed there.

Years of rubble and rubbish need to be cleared away (Image: Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill and Coastal Gun Battery) The battery is flooded with water (Image: Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill and Coastal Gun Battery) The group also plans to restore a rare Allan-Williams Turret, found buried beneath the promenade in May, and display it on site.

Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill formed after the 2013 storm surge damaged the steep beach ramp known as Cardiac Hill.

Since then, it has restored the path, secured ownership of the battery site and is now seeking funding, including from the Heritage Lottery, to complete the project.

Volunteer opportunities and updates are posted on the Facebook group “Mundesley Action 4 Cardiac Hill and Coastal Battery”.