An engineer has buried a Boeing 737 fuselage in his garden in Hilton, Derbyshire, as part of an underground party room and bunker he is building for his family.
Dave Billings, 45, bought the decommissioned aircraft shell on Facebook and spent £4,000 transporting it home. The three-ton fuselage is the latest feature of a subterranean complex he has spent years developing.
The £50,000 project, inspired by the Second World War film The Great Escape, includes tunnels, concealed rooms and hidden entrances. Footage shows helpers winching the aircraft slowly into position before it is covered.
Mr Billings plans to place the fuselage beneath two-and-a-half feet of concrete and soil. He says the finished bunker could support his family for between three and six months in an emergency.
“It’s primarily a fun thing to have and a place for us to have parties and relax but it could be made into a fallout shelter,” he said.
The aircraft is due to have electricity, water and its own ventilation system. Solar panels will be installed above it, while a borehole will provide a water supply.
Mr Billings also intends to convert the plane’s toilet for use, connecting it to the property’s septic tank. A lift shaft concealed inside a traditional red telephone box is planned as the entrance to the buried aircraft.
He said the bunker’s main purpose remained entertainment rather than emergency preparation.
“If I was a prepper, I’d be stopping everything else to get on with it,” he said. “I do these things because they’re cool. I enjoy it. But this one’s a cool thing that’s got a purpose; it can be classed as functional.”
Mr Billings said the idea was immediately supported by his eight-year-old son Oliver, who is fascinated by planes, but initially required more explanation at home.
“Beth did wonder why I was spending money on an old plane and said it was junk but she’s coming round now,” he said.
The engineer estimates that the remaining work will cost £8,000 for concrete, £3,000 for reinforcing mesh and £2,000 for insulation. He also plans to fill the space with food, drink and beer.
“Depending on the amount of food we have down there, we could be off-grid for a long time if need be,” he said.
Mr Billings bought the fuselage with friends in December 2025 and expects the project to be completed by next February. The work is being documented on his YouTube channel, Tornado Dave.
He said his wife had set a firm deadline for the work to be finished before their tenth wedding anniversary.
“So I’ve got a very firm deadline to meet,” he said.
