Historian's anger at lack of cavern tours

A campaigner who fought to preserve historic caverns beneath Stourbridge ring road is furious the public was not given more time to view them.

Historian Chris Armfield has blasted Dudley Council for only allocating two days for experts and residents to be shown around before they were filled in.

He says extra time should have been allocated to allow more people a chance to see the caves. Tours were conducted around the caverns last Thursday and Friday before infilling work started. The Express & Star captured some of the final images of the historic site before work began.

Sand is being be used to fill in the caves, leaving a glimmer of hope that they could be re-opened in future.

But Mr Armfield, who campaigned for an alternative way of shoring up the ground without closing the caves, said he believed the work went ahead too soon. "This is really frustrating and disappointing. I think a great many people, including myself, thought far more time would be given for people to look around the caves," he said.

"Instead it was done over just two days shortly before the work was due to start. This is something which people in the town will probably not get the chance to see again.

"I do not think they should have been filled in at all. They could have been stabilised another way and perhaps even become a leading tourist attraction for the town." Mr Armfield collected hundreds of signatures from residents and shoppers calling for the caverns to remain open.

Dudley Council had originally planned to stabilise the caves but a survey earlier this year revealed the sandstone had deteriorated more than expected. The caverns were created in 1850 and were originally used as cellars by a town brewery.

During the Second World War they were hollowed out further and used as air raid shelters for up to 1,000 school pupils.