DISCOVERING Dudley was once covered by a tropical sea was just one of the surprises found underground when the News was allowed a last look around the world famous Cathedral Cavern.

Before the cavern underneath Dudley’s Bluebell Park gets ready to face the sands of time, the Step Shaft mine has been turned into a subterranean laboratory with engineers, archaeologists and geologists descending to explore and record as much information as possible before it is infilled with sand.

The £850,000 infilling process using a sand andwater paste is set to begin in a fewweeks to stabilise the historic site.

If work is not carried out immediately, it is thought the cathedral sized cavern could collapse and swallow up part of the Wren’s Nest estate within the next five years – cracks are already appearing in the walls.

But the cavern could be sealed forever if the money isn’t found to turn it into a world class tourist attraction, which borough geologists so desperately want.

However, being given the rare opportunity to view the caverns before work begins, for what could be one of the last times, the Dudley News team were lowered by crane 230ft underground into a dark, damp and eerily beautiful world.

Two hundred years ago, the caverns would have been a hive of activity as workers tirelessly mined the limestone rocks.

And for a few final days, the caves are buzzing with experts busily capturing data which will exhibition in September.

As well as producing detailed reconstructions using special rubber materials of the rocks – packed full of fossils of tropical sea creatures – geologists have also been using a unique laser survey tool which has been scanning the entire cavern to create a 3D virtual model of the magnificent cave.

To see the world famous Cathedral Cavern first hand is quite simply breath-taking.

Around 420 million years old, the walls are covered in sea bed ripples and fossils of ancient primitive life forms, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

There is so much history, evolution and revolution contained in the caverns that it is devastating to think that this might well be one of the last opportunities to view it.

But hopefully one day, the money will be found and the Step Shaft Mine can be transformed into the tourist attraction it so much deserves so that future generations can once again experience the awe inspiring sights which are hidden deep beneath the town.

To watch our amazing video report from inside the cavern Click here