FLOODS, oil spills, bomb blasts -- Lancashire's Emergency Centre has dealt with them all. Better know as "the bunker," it was built to make sure the county could survive a nuclear attack.

Now, 30 years on, it will be the base for co-ordinating response and relief efforts should the county be attacked by terrorists or subjected to germ warfare.

Reporter David Higgerson was given the guided tour of the underground labyrinth which could save Lancashire if the worst happened . . .

WITH squirrels running across its long drive and wide, manicured lawns, it looks like the kind of place where the English football team might train, or to which celebrities might disappear for a bit of detox.

The steel-clad underground bunker in Preston has been refitted in recent years. Gone are the steel doors which would have protected it from a nuclear attack, and the ageing phones and equipment have also been consigned to the history books.

The only military connection is that local soldiers would be deployed here if an army presence was required in the wake of any disaster or emergency. Mike Wagstaff is the county's emergency planning officer.

He said: "Whenever there is an incident we come to it to facilitate the recovery.

"People from other agencies, like councils, the environment agency and big chemical firms, would all come here if their assistance was required.

"If something along the lines of what happened in America did occur here, we would be thinking about what to do with the displaced people, help those grieving, sort out response to the media, find out about the environmental impact and the effects on businesses.

"We would co-ordinate the efforts of the voluntary organisations like the Red Cross and WRVS. Our role after an emergency may go on for years. We basically pick up the pieces."

The end of the Cold War brought an end to the need for civil defence.

Since then, the centre has concentrated its efforts on floods, big fires, oil spills, chemical leaks and, more recently, foot and mouth and the fuel crisis.

Under the historic building is the so-called bunker -- now the county's emergency nerve centre.

David Brown, senior emergency planning officer, points out that it was never called that.

He also emphasises that there isn't a list of people who would be sent there to be "saved" should the world come tumbling down.

It is brightly lit, with the lights always left on.

Mr Brown explained: "We never turn the lights off. The ambulance use it as a control room if their place comes down and they need to be able to get in here without breaking their legs looking for light switches."

On the walls are emergency plans for every possible scenario, including chemical leaks and shipping disasters.

There are diagrams of planes similar to those which slammed into the World Trade Centre on one wall.

Mr Brown is quick to point out they are there because they are main types to fly in and out of Blackpool Airport.

Plans of a sinking ferry full of bikers going to the Isle of Man are listed -- but there is no mention of war.

Details of setting up grief centres, appeal funds for tragedies and accommodating foreign refugees are all marked on the wall.

Satellite TV now provides a link to the outside world.

In the next room, where the various agency staff would work, a proper map covers one table, complete with tags on top.

The tags, in this case, show where foot and mouth has struck.

Mr Wagstaff said: "Let's be honest. Preston or Blackburn aren't going to top a terrorist's list. And the risk of biological warfare is minimal.

"Vast quantities would need to be produced and even then it would probably be diluted to the point where it did no harm.

"And as for chemicals, the people making it are the ones who will probably be killed as they transport it to its destination.

"The old image of two miles of mustard gas floating our way just isn't going to happen.

"Our message is for people to be vigilant but not to panic. We've been given no reason to panic."

Having said that, Mr Wagstaff did request that we didn't give the exact location of his base.

Mr Brown added: "There are so many myths surrounding this place. If something did happen, we don't have a list of people to be saved who would be sent here.

"It is a double-edged sword. Would you really leave your family to fend for themselves while you worked for the greater good?

"It just doesn't happen."

Mr Wagstaff added: "We haven't made any real plans specifically for an attack of the type being talked about.

"But then our response to gas explosions, big fires and so on all tend to be the same because we pick up the pieces.

"And anyway," he notes, "we are much more likely to be dealing with a Lockerbie than something along the lines of America."