A growing number of people are building up long-term food supplies in case the world is hit by a major disaster.
Among them is a Scottish engineer who has spent thousands of pounds equipping garden shelters with enough food and backup power to support his family for up to 25 years.
Brian Forbes, 52, constructed two shelters at his home, installing solar panels, independent power systems and extensive food stocks designed to last for decades.
He spent £5,000 on the two structures last year, then filled them with medical supplies, military rations and radios in preparation for a potential war or environmental emergency.
“I’ve probably spent around £6,000 so far this year,” he said. “I’ve spent around £2,500 on freeze-dried food, £2,000 on power banks and £500 on a new generator.”
Mr Forbes’s wife, Donna, 51, accepts his preparations, but his children, aged 15, 27 and 29, remain doubtful. He said: “They think Dad’s nuts, Dad’s crazy, he’s lost his marbles. They go to great lengths to explain why I’m wrong. I may well be wrong, but it’s ultimately my money and my time.”
Brian Forbes built two solar-powered garden shelters supplied with independent electricity and enough food to last 25 years
Forbes has spent thousands of pounds building up emergency supplies for the shelters
The shelters contain tins of food, power banks, night-vision goggles and other emergency equipment
“I do no harm to anyone else. I only need to be right once.
“Whether they think I’m right or wrong, I have a responsibility to care for them, and I take that very seriously.”
Mr Forbes, an engineer surveyor, belongs to The UK Preppers Club, an online community of more than 16,000 Britons who make plans and stock supplies for possible disasters.
Brian said his spending had increased this year because he believed the risks facing the public were growing.
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“We have a lot of risk, including a crumbling power grid and water shortages. Forty thousand people were on bottled water for a month this year,” he said.
His preparations began in 2010, after a severe winter left his children with less food than they needed.
Forbes acknowledges that his children remain sceptical about his disaster-preparation plans
“The roads were gridlocked up here, people were sleeping in cars overnight and had to be rescued by police,” he said.
“In the Highlands, that’s not an unusual occurrence. But here, we weren’t prepared.”
“Shops weren’t making deliveries, and children weren’t going to school.”
“My children were young at the time and supplies such as milk, cereal and bread were running out.”
‘I felt bad that my kids didn’t have a lot in the house. I decided from then it would be a good idea to stock up on unplanned emergency.’
Brian said the prepper community in Scotland have received death threats for their unorthodox lifestyle.
‘I get emails all the time threatening me. They say they’re going to murder all my family. There are some crazy people in the world, and you have to expect a bit of flack. I just laugh it off,’ he said.
‘I only have to be right once for this to pay off.
‘And it doesn’t have to cost thousands. You can prep on a budget, just start small.’
Prepping became more popular in Scotland after the Covid pandemic. There are 22,700 members of the UK Preppers and Survivalists Facebook group while online stores like Preppers Shop UK sell water purifiers, axes and solar panels.
