A Derbyshire dad who spent £50,000 building an underground bunker in his back garden says he's now upgrading it for survival. This follows recent Government warnings urging the public to “actively prepare” for potential wartime scenarios

Dave Billings, 44, first began digging the bunker over a decade ago as a light-hearted project inspired by The Great Escape, but now sees it as a serious investment in his family’s safety. The father-of-one is planning to spend another £10,000 reinforcing the shelter, amid rising global instability and growing fears of future conflict.

“With the way things are changing, I’m prepping it to be more of a survival place,” said Dave, who lives near Matlock with his wife Beth and their seven-year-old son, Oliver. “It won’t necessarily be nuclear-proof, but if you need to hide away, you’ll be able to survive.”

It comes as families were urged to buy batteries and wind up radiosto prepare for the potential outbreak of World War 3, or other mass disruptions like another pandemic, internet outages or extreme weather conditions.

What started as a DIY man cave now includes a 35ft entrance tunnel leading to a 140ft multi-room underground facility, converted from a disused well. Dave, an engineer and content creator, has slowly expanded the complex to include plans for emergency supplies, water filtration, and even blast doors.

“I’m going to guarantee a source of water,” he explained. “I think the idea is to make a water filtration unit so we can safely use the well water. And as long as you’ve got food, you can stay here indefinitely.”

Though not officially part of the "prepper" movement, Dave admits he’s now far ahead of most when it comes to readiness.

“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.”

While global headlines about Middle East tensions and domestic civil defence strategies have raised alarm, Dave says his approach isn’t driven by panic.

“People think we’re going to get a direct hit,” he said. “But I’m in the middle of nowhere, it’s not really somewhere you get a bomb, is it?”

Still, he’s not taking chances. Plans include blast-resistant doors and a long-term supply of tinned food, dried goods, and drinking water.

“If it starts getting bad outside, you’ve got somewhere to hide away,” he said. “Kind of like waiting out a storm.”

Though he admits he’s “winging it,” Dave says his efforts have made him reflect on just how unprepared most people are.

“None of us have got a big plan here of what’s going to happen,” he said. “No one can see into the future.”

“You’ve got to keep some basic supplies around your house. When things go wrong there isn’t going to be a shop to go to. Have enough stuff in your house to last two or three weeks if you can’t go out the door. Food and water supply, that’s the main thing.”