The ‘Doomsday prepper’ was found with six British children in an Austrian cellar

[ad_1]

Local officials say the man who was discovered living in an Austrian cellar with his six British-born children is a “doomsday poacher” who previously worked in IT in London.

Tom Landon, 54, is said to be a conspiracy theorist who has written several self-published books incriminating Austria’s government.

He is believed to have been living in a network of cellars under a building guarded by security cameras in the small village of Orbitz, near the Czech border, for about nine months. He reportedly bought the property through a British company but was not allowed to use it for residential purposes.

A black and white photo of Landon that emerged on Sunday showed a balding man with a goatee looking intently at the camera.

Landon allegedly fired pepper spray at the social workers

Pictures of the area where he was arrested showed two entrances to the alleged underground house. In one, a set of brick stairs lead to an arched entrance, while the other shows a sloping, concrete-covered path dropping below street level, leading to a vault-like building.

The dilapidated entrances are accessible from the street and it appears solar powered CCTV cameras have been wired to monitor these entrances.

Landon was arrested last week after he allegedly fired pepper spray at social workers who discovered his secret underground hideout, before barricading himself in the building. Officials were alerted by local residents who suspected the children were living in the cellars, which are commonly used to store wine in the area.

Locals say they know of Mr. Landon, who has been trying to buy cellars in the village for a while, and was worried about his erratic behaviour.

When the police were called they broke into the building and found him living underground with his accomplice, who may be British, six children aged between seven months and five years, and several guns.

Officials say the children were not registered in Austria and the couple claim they were born in the UK, although checks continue to be carried out.

Landon bought “up to five vaults.”

Eric Grill, deputy mayor of Orbitz, told the media that he believed Mr. Landon had previously lived in England where he worked in IT.

He had bought as many as five cellars in the village, according to Mr. Grill, and seemed to want one for each of his six children.

Online books published under his name include “Dirty Justice”, “The Judas Doctrine”, and “The Corrosive Impact of Information Technology on Human Intellectual Development”.

According to media reports, he also wrote a musical about Austrian rock star Falco — best known for his 1985 hit Rock Me Amadeus — who died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 1998. Mr. Landon, who was living on the island at the time, claims he The body was found and there was a cover-up of the real cause of death.

Reports indicate that Mr. Landon is a “doomsday preparer”, someone who prepares for an expected apocalyptic event by building safe houses and stocking up on food or weapons.

Local media also reported that he had links to the “Reichsburger” movement – an extremist group that sees the state as illegitimate, and whose members were arrested over a coup plot in Germany last year – but local police have played down these reports.

Despite initial concerns, local officials say they have no evidence of children being abused. Doctors examined the children and Mr. Landon was released after his arrest, as prosecutors said he posed no danger to the children.

[ad_2]