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Pictured: 'Doomsday prepper' found with six British children in Austrian cellar

Tom Landon, 54, is reported to be a conspiracy theorist who wrote several self-published books denouncing Austria's government.
Tom Landon, 54, is reported to be a conspiracy theorist who wrote several self-published books denouncing Austria's government.

The man who was discovered living in an Austrian cellar with his six British-born children is a "Doomsday prepper" who previously worked in IT in London, according to local officials.

Tom Landon, 54, is reported to be a conspiracy theorist who wrote several self-published books denouncing Austria's government.

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

A black-and-white photo of Mr Landon that emerged on Sunday showed a bald man with a goatee looking intently into the camera.

Landon allegedly firing pepper spray at social workers

Photos of the area where he was arrested showed two entrances to the alleged underground home. In one, a set of brick stairs leads down to an arched doorway, while the other shows a sloped, concrete-covered path that sinks below street-level, leading to a bunker-like building.

The dilapidated entrances are accessible from the street and solar-powered CCTV cameras appeared to have been hooked up to watch over them.

Mr Landon was arrested last week after allegedly firing pepper spray at social workers who discovered his secret underground lair, before barricading himself in the building. The officials had been alerted by locals who suspected that children were living in the cellars, which are typically used for wine storage in the region.

Locals say they knew of Mr Landon, who had been trying to buy cellars in the village for a while, and had been concerned by his erratic behaviour.

When police were called they stormed the building and found him living underground with his partner, 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 both born in the UK, although checks are still being carried out.

Landon had bought 'up to five cellars'

Erich Greil, the deputy mayor of Orbitz, told media that he believed Mr Landon had previously been living in England where he worked in IT.

He had bought up to five cellars in the village, according to Mr Greil, apparently wanting one for each of his six children.

Books published in his name online include "Dirty Justice", "The Judas Principle" and "The Destructive Effect of Information Technology on Human Intellectual Development."

According to media reports he has also written a musical about the Austrian rock star Falco – known for his 1985 hit Rock Me Amadeus – who died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic in 1998. Mr Landon, who was living on the island at the time, claims to have found the body and that there was a cover-up about the true cause of death.

Reports suggest Mr Landon is a "Doomsday prepper", someone who prepares for an anticipated apocalyptic event by building safe houses and stockpiling food or weapons.

Local media also reported that he has links to the “Reichsburger” movement - an extremist group that sees the state as illegitimate, members of which were arrested over a coup plot in Germany last year - but local police downplayed those reports.

Despite initial fears, local officials say they have no evidence that the children were mistreated. The children were checked over by doctors and Mr Landon was released after his arrest, with prosecutors saying he posed no risk to the children.