SIX British children have have been found living in an abandoned wine cellar in Austria, sparking a huge police probe.
The youngsters, all aged under five, were discovered in the illegal hideout in the small village of Obritz with a 54-year-old Austrian man and his wife.
The investigation began after the man allegedly attacked social services with pepper spray and resisted local authorities outside the home.
After he fled the scene, the social workers called the cops who then investigated the premises.
According to The Telegraph, when police arrived the man barricaded himself in the cellars.
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They subsequently broke into the compound and arrested the man.
Multiple guns were also found in the cellar, which are now being checked for legal ownership.
The Austrian man is believed to be linked with Reichsbürger, a right-wing extremist group.
Local media reported the man became more involved in conspiracy theories since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Following his arrest, he was released on Thursday, January 26, after prosecutors said he posed no risk to the children.
It is not clear how long the family-of-eight had lived in the cellar but there were doors, windows, water and electricity.
Surveillance cameras were also found outside the cellar.
Local authorities said they believed the family were living in the illegal hideout for several months but there had been complaints about them over the last few weeks.
Erich Greil, Orbritz deputy mayor, said: "The surveillance cameras in front of the cellar were particularly annoying and residents sometimes heard children's voices in the basement and as soon as they approached it was quiet."
Police said there was no suggestion of any sexual abuse of the children found in the cellar.
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The children are aged between seven months and five-years-old.
Karl-Josef Weiss, Hollabrunn District Governor, said the children were neither locked up nor neglected.
They were examined at a local hospital in the presence of their mother.
The children have been taken into care after authorities were unable to find their Austrian birth records.
The parents claimed it was because their kids were born in England.
It is unclear if they have British citizenship.
The Telegraph has said that it's sparked fears of a similar case.
It was reported youth welfare officers got involved after the children’s voices were heard near the cellars to ensure there was not a repeat of the Josef Fritzl case.
Fritzl, an Austrian, held his daughter captive in a basement dungeon for 24 years, where she had seven of his children.
