A Scottish father has spent £6,000 this year stockpiling emergency supplies, including hundreds of tins, power banks, and night vision goggles, enough to last his family 25 years.
Brian Forbes, 52, an engineer surveyor from Scotland, has filled two family shelters with freeze-dried foods, power banks, walkie-talkies, battery-operated radios, and headtorches. He said the spending has increased because he perceives the risk of disaster as higher.
Rising risks and costly preparations
Forbes cited a crumbling power grid and water shortages as key concerns, noting that 40,000 people were on bottled water for a month this year. He has spent around £2,500 on freeze-dried foods, £2,000 on power banks, and £500 on a new generator.
The shelters are equipped with solar panels, air conditioning, and their own power supply. Forbes said the night vision goggles are not for hunting people but as a fallback during power cuts, since torches are not needed.
A family divided on prepping
His wife Donna supports the lifestyle and now splits the prepping bill with him, but their three children, aged 15, 27, and 29, are not on board. Forbes said they think he is 'nuts, dad's crazy, he's lost his marbles,' and they go to great lengths to tell him why he is wrong.
He began stockpiling after a severe winter storm in 2010 left his family unprepared. With roads gridlocked, deliveries stopped, and schools shut, he trekked a mile to the local supermarket, only to find queues stretching through the shop and tensions among shoppers.
Practical advice and wider context
Forbes, part of the UK Preppers Club movement, advises adding to supplies little and often. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, his family had enough food for three months, sparing them several shopping trips.
His main concern now is the power grid, under pressure from electric cars, lorries, and heat pumps. He also worries about global conflicts, fuel increases, and threats to crops due to extreme weather.
Sweden and Finland have issued updated handbooks on resilience in the event of conflict or disaster, and the UK government is planning to revive the War Book, first issued during the world wars and the Cold War.
