You wouldn’t really expect to find anything resembling a Siberian salt mine off a roundabout in Dewsbury.

But in an upstairs room of an inconspicuous former office building lies Yorkshire’s first salt cave; an igloo-like re-creation of a natural salt micro-climate.

A 45-minute session of breathing in salty air is said to provide a drug-free remedy for respiratory problems and skin conditions.

The first salt cave in the North and the second in the UK – the other is in Wandsworth, London – is based on inhaling miniscule salt particles, offering ‘salt therapy’ for conditions such as asthma, hay fever, bronchitis, eczema, sinusitis, colds, smokers’ cough and snoring.

The artificial cave re-creates conditions of an Eastern European salt mine, with calming music, soothing lighting and comfortable chairs. It was like entering a sauna, with salt crunching underfoot, like sand. It looked like a snow beach; the walls, floor and ceiling lined with three tonnes of natural rock salt imported from Poland.

The microclimate is created by a salt micronizer, grinding pure salt into a fine, dry spray, circulated around the room. The particles penetrate into the respiratory system.

Salt cave owner Steve Stubley says it has helped his own breathing difficulties.

“Salt contains anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties,” he says. “It’s 100 per cent natural rock salt; nothing has been chemically altered. The tiny particles reach deeply into the lower lung, where breathing difficulties originate. The salt absorbs bacteria and clears away mucus blocking the airways, restoring the mucosa (tissue lining) to health.”

The treatment is known as halotherapy. Depending on patients’ conditions, Steve recommends ten consecutive sessions.

Merchandise on display includes salt crystal lamps, skin scrubs, bath salts and even a salt pipe, aimed at creating the salt cave effect at home.

In Eastern Europe, salt therapy has been a popular natural therapy for 200 years.

“In countries like Poland and Russia, people with chronic breathing disorders spend hours daily in underground salt grottos,” says Steve. “Forty-five minutes in this salt cave is equivalent to three or four hours in a salt mine.”

Salt caves originated from layered salt left behind from the disappearance of the shallow sea partially covering Eastern Europe millions of years ago. Large salt layers remain bedded underground.

In the 14th century, salt mines were developed in Poland, leaving huge chambers deep in mountains. Centuries later, Victorian medics observed that people working in salt mines rarely suffered breathing problems, so therapeutic sessions in cave chambers were arranged for respiratory patients.

I tried out the Yorkshire Salt Cave with a friend who has asthma and eczema. We were given rather unflattering blue hairnets and over-shoes to wear, making us look like we were on a factory production line. Then it was a case of sitting back, leafing through magazines and soaking up the calming, salty atmosphere. It was like sitting in a wintry grotto.

The salty covering is salt soaked in a liquid solution thrown at the walls, then dried overnight. Up to eight people can use the cave. We shared it with a woman with respiratory problems who was on her fourth session – she said it was helping her sleep better and she hadn’t used her inhaler.

With soothing music and mood lighting casting soft colours across the walls, it was relaxing and womb-like. I could taste salt on my lips and the atmosphere was dry, enabling me to take deep breaths, despite a nasty cough I’d been suffering from. I hoped it would ease the cough, but I’d need more sessions for it to make a real difference.

It was a great chill-out though. I’d be tempted to try it again, if only as a stress-reliever.

My friend, Suzanne, who has asthma and eczema, also found it relaxing.

“Salt and minerals can be good for the skin, particularly for those with eczema or psoriasis. A visit I made to the Dead Sea convinced me of the benefits of bathing in salt and mineral-enriched waters,” she says.

“I’m less sure of how salt can benefit the skin when inhaled. My eczema is under control at the moment so I didn’t notice any effects, although I was only there for one session. If stress is a trigger for your skin complaint, taking a regular 45 minutes out to relax in a salt cave could be beneficial.”