A father is splashing out £10,000 to upgrade his £50,000 underground bunker he built in his garden in case World War Three starts – but it won’t be nuclear proof.
Dave Billings, 44, wants to fit it with blast doors to make the hideout a ‘survival place’ for his wife, Beth, and their son, Oliver, 7.
He built the shelter in the garden of his Derbyshire home more than ten years ago and has become spooked by government warnings following tensions in the Middle East.
Mr Billings said the goal is to have a secure underground space for his family if things take a turn for the worse.
He said: ‘With the way things are changing, I’m prepping it to be more of a survival place. It won’t necessarily be nuclear-proof, but if you need to hide away, you’ll be able to survive.’
The engineer and content creator first built the bunker when he was inspired by the Steve McQueen classic movie The Great Escape.
He estimates he’s so far spent around £50,000, which started as a disused well.
A 35ft tunnel now leads into a multi-room facility, which measures 140ft in total.
Dave Billings, 44, wants to upgrade his £50,000 underground bunker he built in his garden in case World War Three starts
He built the shelter in the garden of his Derbyshire home more than ten years ago with a 35ft tunnel that leads into a multi-room facility
The underground hideout features a handcrafted Great Escape tunnel, gym, toilet, sink – and even a beer lift disguised as a keg to carry drinks down to the bunker.
The upgrade will consist of food supply, air filtration, water supply and blast doors.
Mr Billings said: ‘I’m going to have to have emergency supplies of food. I’m going to guarantee a source of water. I think the idea is to make a water filtration unit so we can safely use the well water.
‘I want to make blast doors in the bunker so if a big explosion went off outside, it would hold the door shut better.’
‘As long as you’ve got food, you can stay here indefinitely.
‘If it starts getting bad outside, you’ve got somewhere to hide away, kind of like what they used to have in World War Two with Anderson shelters.
‘People think we’re going to get a direct hit, but I’m in the middle of nowhere, it’s not really somewhere you get a bomb, is it?’
While he doesn’t claim to be a ‘prepper’ – people who stockpile in case of disasters or wars – Mr Billings said the recent government warnings made him realise how far ahead he is in terms of readiness.
Mr Billings said the goal is to have a secure underground space for his family if things take a turn for the worse
The underground hideout features a handcrafted Great Escape tunnel, gym, toilet, sink
A beer lift disguised as a keg (left) carries drinks down to the bunker which even has spiral steps (right)
He now wants to spend £10,000 to upgrade the bunker which will consist of food supply, air filtration, water supply and blast doors
Mr Billings said: ‘I’m going to have to have emergency supplies of food. I’m going to guarantee a source of water. I think the idea is to make a water filtration unit so we can safely use the well water’
The engineer and content creator first built the bunker when he was inspired by the Steve McQueen classic movie The Great Escape
Mr Billings said the recent government warnings made him realise how far ahead he is in terms of readiness
He estimates he’s so far spent around £50,000 on the hideout, which started as a disused well
Mr Billings wants to make blast doors in the bunker ‘so if a big explosion went off outside, it would hold the door shut better’
But the bunker will not be nuclear proof, despite Mr Billings spending thousands of pounds on upgrades
He said: ‘When I saw it on the news and it said “you’ve got to be prepared for war”, I thought, “what are you preparing for?”.
‘Because having somewhere underground with a food supply where you can lock yourself in is quite prepared, really.
‘I don’t think anyone could really be more prepared than I am.’
Despite the serious upgrades, Mr Billings says he’s still figuring it out as he goes.
‘I’m winging it myself really,’ he said. ‘None of us have got a big plan here of what’s going to happen. No one can see into the future.’
On his advice to others he suggested preparing a supply of food to keep in your house ready.
He said: ‘You’ve got to keep some basic supplies around in your house. When things go wrong there isn’t going to be a shop to go to for a start.
‘So people should at least get some basic foods and stuff that lasts a long time that will keep them going. Food and water supply, that’s the main thing you need.
‘If people have got to stay in their houses, you’ve got to be prepared. Have enough stuff in your house to last you two or three weeks if you can’t go out the door. It’s always better to be a bit prepared.’
