It is not everyday that an old wine shelf dating back to the 1960s is found in a town's store.

But this is exactly what has been discovered at the Suffolk Lunch shop in Bungay on Broad Street.

In October 2021, Suffolk Lunch opened at the premises and have slowly been carrying out work since opening.

The store creates foods and alcohol from local suppliers in the area and delivers these fresh to customers in the local area.

As the weather started to get nicer, director Elizabeth Samkin hired a decorator to renovate the outside of the store.

As part of this, a concealed wine shelf was discovered with wine dating back from the 1960s up to the 1990s.

Mrs Samkin talked about some of the history of the store.

Beccles & Bungay Journal: The building has always had a history with alcohol.The building has always had a history with alcohol. (Image: Google)

She said: "From our understanding the premises was a central part of the booze smuggling trade.

"It has been an old off licence in the past as well so it has a history of selling alcohol.

"When we discovered this secret wine shelf we were amazed.

"It must have been hidden behind the original wall since at least the 1990s and had been covered up ever since.

"Then we thought to ourselves afterwards what should we do with this."

Mrs Samkin has said she has received interest from locals about the discovery.

"We are definitely going to keep it up on display for local people to come by and have a look at it in the short-term.

"It has generated a lot of interest from people in the town and the shop seems to have a lot of history to it.

"The shelf itself is actually quite dirty and old.

"I think our plans will be to revamp the shelf itself and after that we are not sure yet."

Mrs Samkin emphasised the importance of stores keeping their shop fronts in good condition.

"Ultimately this makes our great small and independent businesses not only more appealing to locals in Bungay but to visitors coming to our town as well."