‘We spotted a dustbin lid buried in the hills and couldn’t believe what was under it’

Hikers who stumbled upon a dustbin lid partially buried in the hills were left stunned after lifting it to peek at what laid beneath.

Devon Banks took to to showcase the discovery in a video, which began with him and a pal spotting the dusty orange lid submerged under stones. After dusting it down, Devon penned excitedly in a caption: “We thought we’d see what’s inside.”

Lifting the lid revealed a full length standard bin you’d expect to find outside any British home – only this one had no bottom, instead a black hole leading deep into the ground below. Devon’s clip continued with him peering into the abyss, before dangerously making his way undergound.

“We had to crawl in,” he admitted in his dimly-lit surroundings. Panning his camera around him, Devon went on to reveal rocky debris, some of which was crumbling around the pair in small quantities.

Meanwhile, the metallic remains of mining equipment could also be seen amongst several man-made tunnels and gaps. The pair continued their exploration down one of those and soon found themselves treading water.

“There were some very small gaps – and some very big drops,” Devon continued as they approached a mine shaft. With water now gushing past them, he added: “At one point it got extremely foggy.”

A rusty ladder eventually came to their aid, although Devon confessed: “Some of these climbs were way out of my comfort zone.” After continuing their ascent, they reached the “top floor”, which they believed was the way out, only to learn it was yet another tunnel with drops of 100 feet.

“It was a dead end and my mate was suggesting going down one of the holes,” Devon revealed. But with rocks falling and the fear of getting lost, he declared: “We’re going back the way we came.”

Upon reaching the surface – after which his friend had tripped over a plank of wood and almost succumbed to a huge fall, Devon admitted: “That was my scariest cave experience ever.”

“The mine looks scary enough from the outside, never mind going in there,” one user responded in shock. A second concurred: “Freaks me out watching these, my biggest fear is getting buried alive. Don’t do small spaces.”

Meanwhile a third person slammed: “Confined spaces like this can be full of gases like carbon monoxide. It’s so dangerous to enter a confined unventilated space. Lots of cases where person one passes out immediately and multiple people go in to help and all die.”

A fourth urged: “Don’t risk your life for videos. Just don’t! Stay safe.” In response to questions, Devon revealed that the location of his adventure is Force Crag in the Lake District.