Retailers report sharp sales jumps in torches, radios and tinned food after government stockpiling call

On Wednesday, Josh Pringle's online shop, Sgt Prepper's, was still what he calls a small outfit. Then the government launched its Be Ready campaign, and the orders began arriving one after another. Most were for a wind-up radio. By his account, sales have since risen tenfold.

Pringle's experience is one of several gathered by BBC Newsnight from retailers who say demand for basic emergency goods has jumped since 22 October. That was the day Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told people to stock up in case of a crisis, naming a cyber attack or an extreme weather event as examples of what households should be ready for.

Streeting's advice was specific. He said people should have three litres of water per person per day, tinned goods in the cupboard, baby food, battery-powered torches and mobile phone charging packs. Many of those items appear on the list of products whose sales Newsnight found had shot up.

At Iceland, the supermarket chain, sales of tinned products rose 40% over the weekend, and a spokesperson said sales of bottled water were strong too. The company said it was clear that consumers had listened to the government's message, and that its supplies of these products remain healthy.

Robert Dyas reported a 160% rise in radio sales compared with the previous week. Maplin gave the widest set of figures: radios up 92%, torches up 284% and power banks up 106%. Its numbers compare the period since the government's announcement with the same period a month earlier. Ollie Marshall, Maplin's managing director, said that within hours of the announcement people were reaching for the basics: a torch, a wind-up radio, a power bank. Torch sales nearly quadrupled and radio sales almost doubled in three days, he said. He called them simple, affordable products that keep a household connected and informed during a power cut, and said it was encouraging to see people taking the advice seriously.

The smaller specialist sellers reported the steepest climbs. Lincoln Miles, founder of Preppers Shop UK, told Newsnight his sales were up 650% since the announcement. He said that for the moment, everything to do with living off grid seems to be what people are buying.

Streeting, responding to the figures, told Newsnight it was encouraging that people were taking practical steps. He said a few everyday essentials at home, from tinned food to torches, help households prepare for disruption, whether flooding, power cuts or burst pipes, and that everyone can play a part in making Britain more resilient.

The figures come from individual retailers, each measuring a different period, and not from national sales data. What remains to be seen is whether the buying lasts beyond the first days of the campaign, and whether shops keep shelves stocked if demand continues.