A pair of British doomsday preppers who Austrian 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 in local media, 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 the explosive TNT, black powder and ball bearings, as well as detonators, at the property occupied by the men. 

Additionally, the authorities say they found a plethora of guns, including military 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 found a plethora of firearms, including military assault rifles and hunting rifles when they entered the property occupied by the two men

Austrian police were called to the property after paramedics responding to an emergency noticed the arsenal

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, Child Porn Fisting 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.

Additionally, police found powerful hunting rifles, military assault rifles, shotguns, handguns and boxes of ammunition at the property.

The three accused are to stand trial at Klagenfurt District Court as of Tuesday, 22nd August.

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 men are believed to be members of a cult preparing for the end of the world and live in the rural area of Ruden in southern Austria

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.’