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An abandoned chalk mine with eerie corridors and ghostly relics has become an unusual attraction for adventurous explorers in Western Russia.

These otherworldly pictures from beneath the city of Belgogrod show long passageways with pure white walls etched with bizarre patterns created by machinery and workers who are long gone.

Photographer Vladimir Mulder spent three hours exploring the subterranean passages with only a single torch for a light source and found an old Soviet car during his explorations.

This otherworldly picture from beneath the city of Belgogrod show long passageways with pure white walls etched with bizarre patterns

Photographer Vladimir Mulder discovered an old Soviet car during his explorations in the abandoned mine in Western Russia

Mr Mulder spent three hours exploring the eerie subterranean passageways with only a single torch for a light source

The 31-year-old decided to explore the shafts – where carved passageways can play tricks on the eyes – after hearing about the mine from a friend.

When he arrived he was surprised to find that the entrance had already been pried open by previous explorers.

While one would expect the decommissioned mine to be dry and stuffy, the Russian engineer said the air was wet and clean and it was easy to breathe, despite being 100ft underground.

Vladimir said: 'It felt incredible to walk around the tunnels, it was like a maze but it felt as if we were inside an ancient temple or somewhere else beyond time and space.

The abandoned mine once occupied by workers and machinery has become an unusual attraction for adventurous explorers

Workers mined thousands of tonnes of chalk – a soft white limestone which contains layers of flint – for a variety of everyday purposes

Vladimir Mulder decided to explore the shafts – where passageways can play tricks on the eyes – after hearing about the mine from a friend

When the 31-year-old arrived at the mine he was surprised to find that the entrance had already been pried open by previous explorers

'We spent around three hours in the mines and I was fascinated with the strange markings on the walls caused by the mining equipment.

'The mines were completely abandoned, we didn't see any equipment and the guard room looked as if it had been empty for a long time.

'I was really surprised to see the car down there, I have no idea how it got there but judging by the license plate it had been there for many years.

'The air was quite comfortable despite us being so deep down it felt wet but clean and it was easy to breath.

'The only form of life we saw was a single bat, it was the only inhabitant and I'd like to think the mines now belong to it.'

Mr Mulder, an engineer, said the air in the mine was wet and clean and it was easy to breathe, despite being 100ft underground

Farmers use chalk to improve pH quality in soil and small amounts are used in toothpaste and household cleaning solutions

Vladimir Mulder said the only form of life he encountered was a single bat, adding: 'I'd like to think the mines now belong to it'

It was once occupied by workers who mined thousands of tonnes of chalk – a soft white limestone which contains layers of flint – each year for a variety of everyday purposes.

Farmers mix it with soil to improve pH quality, it is crushed with other materials during the production of cement, and small amounts are used in toothpaste and household cleaning solutions.

In the past it was commonly used for home construction materials instead of brick, and small clumps are still used today in the production of beet sugar.