WORK on restoring an old shopping centre to its former glory has led to an unusual discovery -- a secret room.

Builders moved into the centre in Fleming Square, Blackburn, last week to start work on the £200,000 restoration project.

But within days of starting work, the men found they really would be restoring the building to its original state when they found a secret room, believed to date back to the Georgian period.

It is the second time the 'secret room' has been discovered after pet shop owner Linda Dickinson stumbled upon the area in 1985. Linda bashed through an old loo wall in her building.

The room was later bricked back up -- before being rediscovered by workers.

Now council officials at Blackburn with Darwen Council, which is funding the work through a townscape heritage grant, are appealing for information about the Georgian building's mysterious past.

The bricked-up room only came to light as interior walls were being taken down as part of the work to restore the building.

After venturing inside the mysterious room, to their surprise, builders found a blue and white enamel sign reading 'Hopwood Baths,' believed to be dating back to the 1880's.

According to historic records, a Mr Hopwood opened public baths, believed to have been located within the secret room in 1885, but no records have been found to suggest what happened to the baths and why the room was so mysteriously bricked-up and lost for so many years.

The owners of Exchange Arcade are baffled by the discovery and are hoping that someone will be able to shed some light on this strange tale.

If anyone has any information about Mr Hopwood, or the secret bathing room, call Julia Simpson on 01254 585630.