An Anderson shelter from the Second World War remains remains intact in a Cudworth back garden and is used as a shed.

The council house, off Darfield Road, had been home to Dorothy Allott, 90, who died just before Christmas. Neighbour Terry Francis wondered what might happen to it when her house is re-let.

He said: "It's still intact and solid. It's gone rusty on the outside but it's not rotten at all.  I don't know why they can't built cars out of the same stuff. If they did, they'd last a lot longer.

"She was a lovely lady, Mrs Allott. One of the best neighbours you could have.  I once said to her she should write to the Chronicle to do a piece about it, but she said no because she didn't want a load of visitors coming to look at it, which is fair enough.

"But now the house is going back to the council, I don't know what will happen to it. It's lasted all this time. Must be more than 70 years."

Anderson shelters started going up in gardens from February 1939 - seven months before war began.  They were designed to be dug in about four feet, with earth mounded on the top leaving the door exposed.

Mrs Allott had lived there 40 years and the shelter had always been at ground level while she was there, with a wooden door in place of the corrugated iron.  It is likely that someone raised it out of its hole after the war to use it as a shed.

A Berneslai Homes spokesman said: "It is not normally our policy to demolish outbuildings such as Anderson Shelters, as long as they are in a safe condition."