Nearly half of Britons stockpile torches, tinned food for major disruptions

Millions of Britons are preparing for a potential major disruptive event by keeping cash at home, stockpiling tinned goods or having a battery-powered torch nearby, according to new data.

War in the Middle East and Ukraine, more frequent extreme weather, and warnings about risks to the UK's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks and power outages have left many feeling the world is more dangerous and chaotic.

Some people want to avoid being caught out by a bank IT failure. Others prepare for natural disasters or even societal collapse. UK experts recently told people to store emergency food at home in case shortages occur.

Link, the UK's ATM network, tracks cash usage and attitudes. For the first time, its researchers asked the public about contingency planning for events causing major disruption to normal services. Link listed power outages, IT failures, natural disasters or cyber attacks but did not mention war or conflict.

When asked what they would do if card and mobile payments stopped working in shops, 54% said they would withdraw cash from an ATM. Some 46% said they would use food supplies at home; 41% said they would use cash on their person; 36% said they would use cash kept at home; and 31% said they would shop online.

Notably, 15% said they would use banknotes and coins kept specifically for such a scenario.

Researchers then asked what people had done or were doing to prepare. Almost half, or 49%, said they had battery-powered items like a torch at home. Some 47% had tinned goods such as baked beans and canned fruit, and 37% kept a power bank to charge their mobile phone.

One in five, or 20%, had a portable gas hob like a camping stove. Some 15% had an analogue radio. For money, 17% kept a stash of cash at home.

Just over a quarter, or 27%, had done nothing to prepare.

Of those who took such actions, 23% did so in the last three months.

Graham Mott, Link's director of strategy, said the data shows cash's growing role in resilience planning. "With rising public concern about threats like power outages, cyber-attacks and disruption to card payments, more people are prepping by keeping some emergency cash at home," he added.

The UK government's Prepare website lists steps for emergencies. It suggests tinned food that needs no cooking, bottled water, a first aid kit, hand sanitiser, a battery-powered or wind-up torch and radio, a portable power bank for phones, and spare batteries.

Specialist prepper shops have gained popularity in the UK. Some reported a boom after Covid lockdowns.

The Link survey came from a YouGov poll of 2,137 people in March. Link said the figures were weighted to represent all UK adults.