World War One trenches found in Buxton during mine scan

Aerial photography of the area that was scanned

Evidence of World War One practice trenches has been found in Derbyshire following an aerial survey.

The emplacements were found by a company working for the Coal Authority to find old mine workings in Buxton.

The images were achieved by firing lasers, mounted on an aircraft, at the ground and measuring how long it took for the light to bounce back.

Simon Crutchley, from English Heritage, said the remains emerged after he analysed the resulting photographs.

'Faded away'

He said: "[The pictures] revealed what appears to be the extensive and unrecorded remains of [World War One] practice trenches, which could help tell the story of Derbyshire's soldiers as they prepared to go to war."

Glynn Wilton, a World War One project officer for Derbyshire County Council, said the trenches were probably never recorded as there was no great need to.

He said: "The imperative [was] to get men trained and so [the memory of them] just faded away."

Aerial photographer James Eddy, from Bluesky, was asked to map the area in order to find old mine entries in order to protect the public from danger.

He said: "The system we use is often used for archaeological purposes and allows us to see through trees and canopies.

"We've found World War Two camps down in Surrey before as well."

Lines of trenches were dug into the ground on the Western Front for soldiers to live in and fight from during World War One.

British troops climb from their trench in World War One during the Battle of the Somme