When apocalypse comes, head to the supermarket

The average supermarket contains enough supplies to keep a person fed and watered for more than half a century, a scientist has predicted.

Lewis Dartnell said large stores are stocked with non-perishable goods to last one adult 55 years.

The author and astrobiology scientist conducted the research on how the UK could survive an apocalypse ahead of his appearance at a science fair in Birmingham.

Research also discovered around one third of the population (36%) keeps a grab-bag of essential items in case of disaster.

While the research shows food (61%), medical supplies (53%) and even mobile phones (47%) were top of people’s lists to grab as they run from home in the event of an emergency, fewer recognised the importance of taking matches (22%) or a simple bottle (10%), which could be used to disinfect water.

Dr Dartnell, author of The Knowledge: How To Rebuild Our World From Scratch, said: “Clearly we shouldn’t be worrying 24/7 about a potential apocalypse, but it’s interesting to take a snapshot of where we are now and how we’d fare — individually and as a society.

“People’s survival instincts are strong, but without a greater focus on Stem [science, technology, engineering, and maths] skills, the speed at which we’d return to society as we know it would be seriously impeded.