We all know, we’ve lost countless things underneath our sofas and when we finally decide to go ahead with that spring clean, we’re often amazed at what we discover underneath our sofa, majority of the time things we never knew we had. However one couple in Plymouth, England discovered something more then a few cents or book, but a medival well.

Colin and Vanessa Steer received the shock of their lives when they uncovered a 33ft medieval well underneath their living room sofa.

The married couple were surprised to find they had actually been sitting on a piece of Plymouth’s history for over 25 years.

Mr Steer had spotted the bothersome bump in the floor shortly after moving into the Victorian house in Mannamead Road.

However he was discouraged to explore the matter further by his wife and it was largely forgotten about underneath couple’s sofa.

‘I was replacing the joists in the floor when I noticed a slight depression – it appeared to be filled in with the foundations of the house,’ he explained.

‘I dug down about one foot but my wife just wanted to me to cover it back up because we had three children running around at the time.

‘I always wanted to dig it out to see if I could find a pot of gold at the bottom, so when I retired at the end of last year that’s what I started to do.’

With the help of a friend, the former civil servant began digging down into the well, which is around 30 inches wide, using a bucket on a rope to pull up the debris.

Having discovered an old sword, the 61-year-old has now added lighting and also built a trap door around the well.

He added: ‘I’ve been doing lots of research into its history but I’d like to try and find someone to date it.

‘I love the well and think it’s fascinating. I’d love to find out who was here before us. I’ve got a piece of Plymouth’s history in my front room.’

However his wife doesn’t share the same enthusiasm as her husband for the project.

She said: ‘I hate the well. But I suppose it is quite a feature. When we come to sell the house I just hope it’s not a white elephant in the room!’

So maybe we should start paying more attention to what’s underneath our sofas who knows what we could find.