Inside Austrian cellars where father accused of keeping six children

2023-01-30

EXCLUSIVE: Inside Austrian cellars where father is accused of keeping his six children – as he blasts officials for ‘sticking their noses in’ because his ‘off grid’ lifestyle frustrates them

Tom Landon was held by police after he used pepper spray on social workers
Three boys and three girls between seven months and seven years were found

A dad of six accused of keeping his young children in a cellar has blasted authorities for ‘sticking their noses in’ after inviting MailOnline into his home to prove his innocence.

Tom Landon, 54, was held by police after he used pepper spray on social workers, who had been called to investigate after neighbours reported crying kids.

Officials found three boys and three girls aged between seven months and seven years in the cellar of the house, which had been recently bought by Landon in the picturesque Austrian village of Obritz, close to the Czech border and 60 miles north of Vienna.

But after spending 24 hours in police custody he told MailOnline he had been held simply because his ‘off grid’ lifestyle had annoyed local deputy mayor Erich Greil who was running for re-election.

Tom Landon, 54, pictured above, spent 24 hours in police custody after officials found three boys and three girls aged between seven months and seven years in the cellar of his house

The children were found in the cellar, pictured above, underneath his house he recently bought in the picturesque Austrian village of Obritz, close to the Czech border and 60 miles north of Vienna

And he also dismissed reports in local media his family were British insisting his wife was German and the children Austrian.

Mr Landon – who has written more than 30 books critical of his country’s government – said: ‘This has been very traumatic for my wife and children and it’s because people like the deputy mayor have been sticking their noses in where they don’t need to be.

‘My family is terrified, they won’t come back to the house where we lived for nearly a year because they are scared the police may return. Do you know we had police here with guns and a battering ram to get access to my property ?

‘And all because the deputy mayor doesn’t like our chosen lifestyle and wants us out. Do you really think I would be free if I had been keeping my young children in a cellar ?’

Mr Landon, who lived in London before moving back to his native Austria, invited MailOnline inside the six properties he has bought and which he intended to renovate and give one to each child when they were older.

Police have marked the outside of each one with red paint so they can be easily identified for any future investigation on child cruelty but the case is expected to be dropped by local prosecutors.

He told MailOnline: ‘I admit I used pepper spray but it barely touched the people who came here, and I was simply defending myself because these people failed to identify themselves.

‘I saw two men outside looking at my property and they were shouting at me to come out – one said ‘We have reason to believe you have children in here and they are unsafe and not going to school’.

Mr Landon, who lived in London before moving back to his native Austria, has written more than 30 books critical of his country’s government

In an exclusive interview with the Mail Landon said: ‘ Do you know we had police here with guns and a battering ram to get access to my property ? And all because the deputy mayor doesn’t like our chosen lifestyle and wants us out. Do you really think I would be free if I had been keeping my young children in a cellar ?’

Mr Landon added: ‘I admit I used pepper spray but it barely touched the people who came here and I was simply defending myself because these people failed to identify themselves’

Landon dismissed reports in local media his family were British insisting his wife was German and the children Austrian

‘I said they were my children, they were perfectly safe and we were teaching them at home, and it was none of their business how we chose to live.

‘But they refused to go away and they started to come in and that’s when I used the spray, they ran away over the field and then a few minutes later the police were breaking down my door.

‘The children were terrified and my wife was in tears and all for nothing, our quiet simple life here is ruined now by busy bodies who have no business interfering.

‘They used a special team of policemen to search my house because they thought I had booby traps and explosives here – they were dressed like Robocop with body armour and it was all so unnecessary.’

During his interview Mr Landon’s wife called twice and he was seen smiling, waving and blowing kisses to the chidiren who could be heard laughing in the background.

The 54-year-old explained his children were terrified and his wife was in tears during the police visit

Police have marked the outside of each one with red paint so they can be easily identified for any future investigation on child cruelty but the case is expected to be dropped by local prosecutors

Mr Landon claimed the police used a special team to search the house because they thought he had booby traps and explosives there

Boxes of toys were neatly placed along the walls and down stairs in the cellar dozens of dust covered bottles of wine were piled up in alcoves, as were plastic crates containing tinned food, nappies and medical supplies

Inviting MailOnline inside the house where the children were living he pointed out a large bedroom where the children slept and a basement cellar where he told them to hide as police broke down the door to his home.

When told by MailOnline this was why police had described him as a ‘prepper’ – a person who prepares for a ‘major disaster or cataclysmic event – Mr Landon laughed and said: ‘I didn’t even know what that meant when they told me.

‘Once they explained it I said I was just a family man and a good father who liked to make sure I had everything my children needed, and as for the wine you can help yourself, I don’t drink.’

Mr Landon invited MailOnline inside the house where the children were living he pointed out a large bedroom where the children slept and a basement cellar where he told them to hide as police broke down the door to his home

Mr Landon said: ‘I said they were my children, they were perfectly safe and we were teaching them at home, and it was none of their business how we chose to live’

Mr Landon dismissed reports that weapons had been found insisting they were air pistols and a deactivated World War Two gun

During his interview Mr Landon’s wife called twice and he was seen smiling, waving and blowing kisses to the chidiren who could be heard laughing in the background

Mr Landon – also dismissed reports that weapons had been found insisting they were air pistols and a deactivated World War Two gun – adding:’ Those guns they found wouldn’t hurt anyone.’

He added: ‘We chose not to register the children but they are all mine and now we will have to go to Vienna to take DNA tests to prove they are ours. If the authorities were so concerned why have they let the children come back to us ?

‘I bought these six properties for the children and I wanted us all to live together when they were older but now this plan has been ruined because the deputy mayor didn’t want us here.

‘I think I will lose 120,000 Euros now because my wife and children don’t want to come back here but I will try and get some money back by suing the authorities for what they have done to us.’

‘I have been accused of being the new Josef Fritzl but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I am not an enemy of the state, I am a philanthropist and above all a loving father.’

MailOnline has approached the deputy mayor Mr Greil but he replied he was unable to comment as he was involved in local elections.

The Lower Austrian police and local prosecutor were both unavailable for comment.

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