10 October 2012 Last updated at 01:26

In pictures: Highland Council's Raigmore bunker

Highland Council is among a handful of local authorities that makes use of Cold War-era bunkers. Photographs courtesy of Highland Council

The Raigmore bunker in Inverness was built in 1941 for the RAF, but was later improved during the Cold War

From 1958 to 1968, during the Cold War, the underground complex was used by the Civil Defence Corps and later the Royal Observer Corps

When the Cold War deepened in the 1980s, the UK government insisted that every local authority have an emergency centre. One was established in the Raigmore bunker

In 1988, the UK government provided a grant to cover 90% of the cost of improving the bunker to protect it against nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The site has a system for filtrating air which can be powered manually by pedalling two static bicycles

The bunker has various ways of communicating with the outside world, including digital and analogue technologies

One of two generators that can provide electricity to the bunker in a power cut

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In pictures: Highland Council's Raigmore bunker

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