British man arrested after six children found locked in Austrian cellar

In a village sixty miles north of Vienna, neighbours began noticing something peculiar. Children's voices would drift up from beneath a house, but the moment anyone approached, the sounds would stop. It was this pattern—the presence, then the silence—that eventually prompted local residents to alert authorities in Obritz, a small Austrian community near the Czech border.

What police discovered when they arrived was six British children, ranging in age from six months to seven years old, living in a wine cellar beneath the property. The children had been locked away underground, alongside several firearms. None of them were registered in Austria. The discovery set in motion a chain of events that would expose a household operating under an ideology rooted in conspiracy and revisionism.

The man arrested at the scene was Tom Landon, a British national who police say attacked two social workers with pepper spray when they came to question him. Landon, according to local reports and police sources, is a conspiracy theorist and alleged Holocaust denier with ties to the Reichsburger movement—a group that rejects the legitimacy of modern Germany as a sovereign state. He had self-published several books, including titles like "The Destructive Effect of Information Technology on Human Intellectual Development" and "Dirty Justice." Before moving to Austria, he had lived in East Finchley, London, and worked in the IT sector.

Landon was not unknown to local officials. The Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that he was "firmly convinced of bizarre conspiracy theories" and had "completely drifted away" since the start of the Ukraine war. One resident recalled that Landon had attempted to purchase their cellar the previous year but had kept his intentions vague. Another local observation proved telling: Landon had expressed a desire to have a separate cellar for each child. The surveillance cameras positioned in front of the cellar had also drawn complaints from residents, who found them intrusive.

Landon's British wife, forty years old, was also questioned by authorities. Both were released after investigators determined they posed no immediate risk to the children. Police sources indicated that the couple had lived in the United Kingdom and maintained connections there. Landon is also described as a prepper—someone who believes a catastrophic disaster is imminent and stockpiles supplies, ammunition, and provisions accordingly.

When the children were taken to hospital for examination in the presence of their mother, there was no initial evidence of physical mistreatment. Stefan Loidl of the Austrian Police confirmed they received medical evaluation. A local deputy mayor, Erich Greil, reported having seen the children walking around the village approximately two weeks before their discovery, and at that time everything appeared normal. Landon had told police he intended to remain in the cellar—which he claimed had been brought to Austria through a British company—for only a day or two longer.

The children were placed into temporary care by local authorities. Police are working with Interpol to identify them and establish their full circumstances. Landon faces charges related to the pepper spray assault on the social workers. The investigation continues as authorities work to piece together how long the children had been confined, under what conditions, and what legal protections may have been violated. The case has exposed a household operating in isolation, guided by ideologies that reject mainstream institutions and reality itself.