Artist digs for history.

History is being brought to life for school children with a newly built bomb shelter being used to teach youngsters about the Second World War.

Pupils at St James's Primary School in Wollaston have taken a step back in time with the help of Black Country artist, Luke Perry.

The 30-year-old artist, who constructs sculptures and artworks out of metal at his factory in Cradley Heath, has built a replica Anderson shelter, similar to those used to protect family's throughout the country.

The artist used contemporary instructions and accounts to construct his shelter, which has been built to help the youngsters learn about the conflict.

The father-of-one said: "I have worked with the school a couple of times in the past and they asked me to create the shelter so that it could be used as a catalyst for story telling.

"I looked at instructions on how to build them that still exist and altered them slightly to make the structure safer. It's a great example of a simple design that works.

"The first thing that I noticed when we completed it was just how safe you feel inside. It's not the most comfortable place to be but during a raid I would rather be in the shelter than outside."

The shelter took three days to build and required the Black Country artist to bend six sheets of corrugated tin, cut more than a hundred yards of wood to length and dig out more than four tons of dirt.

The Anderson shelter was first designed in 1938 and named after Sir John Anderson.

They were able to seat around six people and were free to most families earning less than £250 a year and cost other families £7.

Mr Perry, who lives in Stourbridge added: "The children were really excited about it and they really got into the spirit of the war and could feel just what it was like at the time.

"I have really enjoyed the project I love working with schools and seeing the reactions from the children."

The school now intends to grow vegetables on the roof of the shelter as many families did during the war.