Coronavirus lockdown: Couple build 'Peaky Blinders' pub in cellar

Kelly Hinnels and her partner Lee Kay have just put the finishing touches on their home country pub.

"It was during the first lockdown last year and we were climbing the walls and going stir crazy," said Kelly, a hairdresser who was on furlough at the time. "We needed a project to keep us busy.

Lee and Kelly

"After we did all the garden up, I got this bright idea that I wanted a country pub under my house.

"Everybody is used to going on a pub crawl around here."

So Kelly's partner, Lee, a school caretaker, got to work building the 'Bunker Bar' in the cellar of the couple's home.

The couple, from Bradford, have now finished their creation.

"I sat there dictating what I wanted, but he did it all up himself. He'll try his hand at anything.

"I like farmhouses and the country, so I wanted it to have an 'olde-worlde' feel to it.

"Most of the pub furniture is second hand, so it's upcycled, but two of the tables are hand made because I wanted them to have a Peaky Blinders look to them.

"It also has brass plates and ornaments and the old-style parafin lamps for decoration. There is also some old pipework and pipework shelves as a feature.

"We also extended it because I wanted a traditional pub corner seating area."

Kelly said that Lee started work on the 'Bunker Bar' in April last year and has been adding bits to it before finishing it last week.

"It was a bit small to start with, so we've extended it and refurbished it twice.

The timing of it has been perfect, as the couple can now celebrate Valentine's Day in style.

"It's Valentine's Day coming up, so I've got a load of decorations and I've ordered a meal, so it'll be sort of a date night at home."

Kelly said that having their own pub at home has "definitely helped" beat the lockdown blues and not being able to go out to the pubs

And ever since finishing their country pub at home, Kelly said the couple's family and friends "can't wait" to come for a visit.

"Once we can have people around, they'll be welcome. We've even had a toilet put in.

"They can't want to come and see it.

"My mum and dad also have their own pub under their house, so it kind of family thing," said Kelly.

Kelly said that her dad likes to compare the two 'home pubs' and tease his daughter about it.

"He likes to boast about his pub. He says it is a lot better than mine, so we have a lot of fun with it."