The rock houses of England's last cave people

It was the middle of the 20th Century when England's last cave dwellers gave up their homes in a rural part of the country near Birmingham.

Across several centuries, dozens of different families made their home among what began as a couple of sandstone caves in picturesque Kinver Edge, a high heath with views for miles.

Over time, the caves were extended to a series of rock houses, nestled in the Staffordshire countryside, which became a draw for tourists.

At the height of their appeal, hundreds of visitors from across the West Midlands and further afield came across these modern "cave people" before the number of inhabitants dwindled and their rock homes became abandoned.

"They had a much higher quality of life in the rock houses," said Claire Hale from the National Trust, which looks after the attraction.

"If you were living during the Industrial Revolution, people were exposed to pollution, disease - if you live to reach 50, you were doing well.

"They [in the rock houses] were living into their 80s."