How to construct your individual nuclear bunker in case Mad Vlad presses the pink button

Thousands of rattled Brits are planning their own nuclear bunkers as Mad Vlad Putin edges closer to pressing the red button.

The rich are splashing out £500,000 on luxury underground hidey-holes which double up as underground bars and cinemas to protect them if WW3 breaks out.

Matthew Wright, whose Nottingham firm Burrowed builds the survival dugouts, has had “several thousand” enquiries since he started advertising just six months ago. He normally crafts underground Hobbit-like holiday homes but spotted a need for the structures when the Ukraine war broke out.

The engineer said: “People think it’s the fanatics and the doomsday preppers wanting bunkers but it’s just normal people who want to protect their family.

“Generally they’re wealthy because not everyone can afford one.

“Lots of people take out life insurance, this is the next level of insurance for the rich.

“The one I’m building at the moment is for a DJ who wants it as an underground bar but also doubles up if something bad were to happen.

“His primary enquiry was about a bunker but then he realised he may as well pop a bar in and make it soundproof so he doesn’t keep his neighbours up with his music.”

Mr Wright’s largest bunkers are made from plastic, cost £150,000 and can accommodate 10-12 people. A concrete one would cost nearer to £500,000, he says. There are also dozens of former Cold War bunkers up for sale online, with one in Derbyshire costing a relatively cheap £15,000.

Europe is gearing up for all-out war as tetchy Vlad ramped up his nuke threats. It comes as Ukraine fired British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, a move certain to irk the Russian leader.

He already cut some of the red tape around his nuclear doctrine this week to make launching an attack easier. That was revenge for Ukraine using six US-made long-range Atacms missiles for the first time.

Germany is leading the planning for a European intervention and is ready to host hundreds of thousands of troops from NATO countries. It would become a strategic hub to dole out military gear, food and medical supplies if the Ukraine conflict spills over into ally territory.

Sweden, Norway and Finland have all issued pamphlets to their citizens ordering them to stock up on supplies such as iodine tablets in the event of a radioactive attack. The gloomy leaflets inform them they must be able to fend for themselves for at least two weeks while the deadly radiation levels dwindle.

Vlad is also likely to use ‘hybrid warfare’ against the West, US officials said. It would involve more European assassinations as well as Russia arming our Middle Eastern enemies.

US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: “We are incredibly concerned.”

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