A £1m storage vault where valuable items can be locked away is set to open in a Lace Market basement.

Planned within a multi-storey building, in a secret location, customers will be able to pay to keep valuable belongings, such as jewellery or important paperwork, locked away.

Customers will also be able to trade gold bullion in the facility which is being called Nottingham Vaults.

The exact location can't be revealed for security reasons.

Having already opened vaults in Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool and Newcastle, co-owner Seamus Fahy expects the Nottingham branch to be popular.

Company bosses set up a website two years ago advertising such a facility in Nottingham, so customers could register their interest.

Mr Fahy, 50, of Limerick, in the Republic of Ireland, said: "Immediately we saw huge demand because people were filling out the online forms, saying 'as soon as it's open in Nottingham, please contact us'.

"Very quickly we knew there was going to be demand for a safe deposit box facility in Nottingham.

"Then it was the tough decision of finding the right location. We wanted a secure, safe location in an anonymous building so people could come and go, without anyone knowing where they were visiting.

"We're in the Lace Market area, we've found a basement and we've installed a purpose-built vault which exceeds bank standards.

"The vault itself will hold several thousand boxes when it's full."

Co-founder of Nottingham Vaults, Seamus Fahy.

Mr Fahy, who is behind the facility with co-owner David Walsh, 44, of County Cork, said: "The banks have all withdrawn safekeeping services, so you cannot get a safe deposit box in a bank in Nottingham any more."

Mr Fahy, who is also managing director of a jewellery company, said: "What are people storing? It's anything of value to you.

"So if your house burned down tonight, what would you be devastated that's gone? Is it jewellery, family heirlooms - your grandmother's engagement ring? Is it old photographs? Is it your stamp collection?

"Anything that's of value: title deeds to your property if you've got a mortgage paid off."

He added: "We have a lot of Asian people interested in the services. An awful lot of Asian ladies have gold wedding jewellery passed down from the generations."

He said it would be the first facility in Nottingham, saying "we have been the first everywhere we have gone".

Under the agreement to use the facility, there are a number or prohibited items which are not allowed to be stored, which include firearms, drugs, explosives, liquids and perishable items.

However, each box is ultimately private for the customer.

Co-founders Seamus Fahy, left, and David Walsh, right.

"It's going to be fully automated so the customer, through biometric access and facial recognition software, will be able to access the box themselves," said Mr Fahy.

"There will be privacy rooms within the vault for people to carry out their business in private where there are no cameras.

"We will never know what's in people's boxes."

He added: "A big part of our business is buying and selling gold bullion.

"We also provide a comprehensive gold bullion service.

"So if you want to buy a gold bar, sell a gold bar, you can do all that with us inhouse. A lot of our customers will be selling gold.

"And, if they want to sell it at any stage, it never has to leave the premises. We'll buy them off them straight away inhouse."

There are 10 different boxes available, of various sizes, made from reinforced steel.

All customers will have to provide ID and proof of their address.

They will have to use fingerprint scanners and a swipe card to access the vault, as well as a personal key.

Other security measures include motion sensors and seismic sensors.

And a 24-hour off-site CCTV system will be in place.

The facility is insured by Lloyd's of London.

Mr Fahy added: "We expect to be getting customers from a 30-miles radius. We expect people to be coming from Derby and north Leicester."

The facility will provide 15 jobs in various roles including marketing, administration, maintenance, finance and in gold bullion dealing.

It is expected to open next month.