Claims of neglect at Royal Gunpowder Mills in Waltham Abbey

A concerned volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of the sack, showed the Guardian the storage area of Royal Gunpowder Mills in Waltham Abbey.

Previous exhibition pieces such as rocket parts, Second World War radar equipment, Victorian fire engines and other unique items are unprotected and kept in poor conditions.

The current owners are in talks to sell the historical site, which has been in operation for 300 years and specialised in the production of explosives. It is also an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

The “brokenhearted” volunteer said many are not labelled, resulting in donated items being discarded or their historical context lost.

He said: “Antique shops treat stuff better than this. If I remotely liked alcohol all this clutter would turn me to drink.”

Pointing to the corner of one of the damp rooms covered in cobwebs, where a plane’s cockpit was supposed to be stored, the volunteer said: “I don’t even know where the ejector seat is, it may have been ejected.”

Donated dioramas of Second World War battle scenes have scaffold poles laying on them and artefacts excavated at the site, including soldiers’ helmets and artillery shells, have been left to rust in the open air.

The buildings are currently being assessed with a view to future refurbishment.

The volunteer said morale among his colleagues has been low since negotiations over the site’s future begun.

He added: “We need a member of staff with museum experience who can salvage these items and preserve them immediately. Unfortunately we have no one like that on site.”

"Most volunteers are inexperienced and wouldn't consider these items historically valuable which is why they have ended up in such a state of disrepair."

 “The sad thing is I will never live long enough to see all these artefacts restored.”

The Mills owners are in talks with PGL, a children’s educational holiday company, over a possible sale.