A pair of British doomsday preppers who police claim had ‘planned to build a nuclear dirty bomb’ were found with a massive arsenal of weapons at their home.

The pair, who have not been named, face up to five years in jail after being charged with nuclear offences following their arrest in Ruden, Carinthia State, Austria, earlier this year.

Detectives say they found materials for making bombs, including TNT, black powder and ball bearings, as well as detonators, at the property occupied by the men. 

Authorities also said they found a plethora of guns, including assault rifles, at the house occupied by what is believed to be a cult of people preparing for the end of the world. 

The 67-year-old Brits, along with a 29-year-old Austrian co-conspirator, have been charged with conspiring to use ‘a nuclear fuel, a radioactive substance, an explosive’ to create bombs, local media reported.

Police are understood to be looking for a fourth accomplice, reportedly a 68-year-old Austrian national, who remains at large.

Police discovered components of male lethal pipe bombs, including 1.5 kilogrammes (3.3 lbs) of TNT, 8.5 kilogrammes (18.7 lbs) of black powder, ball bearings and steel tubing inside the home.

It is understood that the deadly concoction, which included sulphuric acid, was enough to create nine powerful DIY bombs.

Investigators also found 20 detonators and a mobile phone which prosecutors believe was to be used as a trigger.

The three accused are to stand trial at Klagenfurt District Court from today.

Public Prosecutor’s spokesperson Tina Frimmel-Hesse said: ‘Such cases are very rare. The quantity was sufficient to produce eight pipe bombs with a devastating effect.’

Frimmel-Hesse added that the offenders refused to reveal what they had planned to do with the explosives when questioned.

The three accused were arrested after one of them called for an ambulance during a medical emergency, according to local media.

Responding paramedics immediately called police after seeing the arsenal at the property. Officers then arrested the three inhabitants and sealed the estate.

A spokesman for the Klagenfurt State Prosecution told Newsflash: ‘The men will be in court over the illegal possession of weapons and explosives.’

The three men reportedly lived a very reclusive life and had no interest in talking to their neighbours.

However, one local told the news outlet: ‘The house they acquired some years ago is extremely dilapidated. The region is very quiet and rural, not a lot is going on there.

‘Their neighbours don’t know anything about the three men. It has to be seen whether they were part of some conspiracy network or just weird hermits.’

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