AN URBAN explorer from Darfield claims to have discovered a secret Nazi weapons testing bunker.

Matt Nadin is part of Finders Beepers History Seekers, a group which explores ruins and abandoned buildings and films the results.

Whilst on a trip to Duisburg in Germany, Matt believes he discovered underground tunnels where German soldiers secretly tested weapons during the Second World War, that had been unseen for at least a decade.

“We found out just before that Hitler went there on a few occasions,” said Matt, 38.

“The Germans were banned from having any weapons on that front, but my view is that they hid them underground, and very close to all the factories that would have made a lot of noise.

“This one room was unbelievable all the walls were soundproofed with wood and metal underneath, it was like walking into an oven or furnace.

“I have been to Dunkirk, and there were rivets on the floor that looked exactly like where the gun turrets were there.

“There was a long corridor and on the other end was a thick bit of metal with bullet holes in, and it had these big steel doors. To think of the noise that would have gone on in there is incredible.”

Matt and fellow explorer Warren Tepper, 32, from Hampshire, found more bullet holes in the walls of the tunnels, which they believe may have been from a firefight between the Germans in the tunnel and American soldiers.

The site on the Belgian border is relatively close to the village of Aachen, the scene of a major conflict between American and German troops.

Matt, of Coronation Street, Darfield, said: “Looking at the marks there would be no other reason for so many bullet holes to be there.

“Walking around you could almost feel the presence of the people who were there before.

“It would have been quite scary

for the Germans when the Americans turned up. It was very emotional.”

The group uploads videos of their exploration to YouTube, where they currently have more than 1,700 subscribers who tune in to watch their videos.

They were tasked with heading to Germany by a fan as part of a competition they ran when they reached 1,500 subscribers, and had no idea what they would uncover.

“It’s something we planned, but we only found out the day before where we were going. Our subscribers told us where to go and we booked the flights that night,” said Matt.

“I had been on a family holiday in Scotland, so I drove 500 miles back on the Sunday and then Monday morning got up about 2am to set off to the airport. We went there not really knowing anything.”

From what was a relatively unassuming exterior, the pair found a small entrance through which they could access the untouched underground tunnels.

Matt said: “We were lucky in the fact that it has been flooded for the last ten years but because it’s been such a hot summer this year we could get in.

“We got inside the tunnel through a little hole but there must have been about four or five miles of tunnels. I did about 12 miles of walking.

“When we first went in it was a bit cooler, but as we got further in it was absolutely stifling, I ended up with barely any clothes on.”

Matt said he believes the group’s tendency not to compile too much research before they explore sites such as these is a benefit rather than a hindrance.

Matt said: “We are not experts in military stuff, or anything at all really, we know bits about everything.

“It’s getting that insight a lot of people look without seeing, we find out by going to these places rather than by sitting behind a computer screen and reading about it.”

The group, set up in April 2017 and consisting of Matt and Warren alongside Andy Thompson, Roy Taylor and Tony Cheetham, have previously made videos from Sheffield’s Parkhill Flats and High Royds Hospital in West Yorkshire.

The group hope to have 2,000 subscribers by the end of the year, at which point they will get matching tattoos featuring the channel’s logo.

Matt is also set to take part in a charity boxing match against another of YouTube’s urban explorers Neil Ansell.

You can watch Finders Beepers History Seekers at their YouTube channel here or visit their Facebook page here.