In the event of a national blackout, Brits will be told to grab the bleach from underneath the kitchen sink to mix with dirty water and open a low alcohol beer.
The bizarre survival tips were revealed in scripts published by the government, which would be read out by the UK’s chief medical officers, including Professor Chris Whitty, on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4 during a nationwide blackout.
While mixing a small dose of household disinfectant with dirty water may sound dangerous, Sir Chris reassured people that the advice was ‘developed by doctors and scientists to help keep you safe and healthy’.
Brits would be advised not to waste water and only use it for drinking, washing hands and preparing food.
Water that is still flowing normally from cold taps is still safe to drink, but a long-running power cut could affect supplies.
If households are cut off from water, they are advised to source water from rainwater collection, such as water butts, lakes and reservoirs, which could then be made safe to drink.
The water should be filtered with pillowcases or bed sheets before adding unscented bleach, which can be used to purify the water.
The advice says you should add roughly a quarter of a teaspoon to every 10 litres of water, then let it sit for 15 minutes before storing in a cool, dark place.
The bizarre survival tips were revealed in scripts published by the government, which would be read out by the UK’s chief medical officers, including Professor Chris Whitty (pictured), on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4 during a nationwide blackout
‘I know all the advice I am giving you might sound strange and you may be especially worried about drinking water containing bleach,’ the chief medical officers’ message states.
‘Remember that this advice has been developed by doctors and scientists to help keep you safe and healthy, as long as you follow these instructions carefully.’
The guidance also says that low-alcohol beers can still be drunk, but advises against anything stronger.
It said: ‘Alcoholic drinks are usually dehydrating so shouldn’t be drunk, but low-alcohol beer or other low-alcohol drinks (less than 1.2 per cent) are not dehydrating and you can drink these if you run out of water.’
Any long-lasting power cut would most likely wipe out mobile and internet communications, so battery or solar radios are considered the most reliable method for receiving government messages in this scenario.
Although the government insists the prospect of a national power outage is ‘very unlikely’, experts believe that the public needs to be better prepared.
Every person in the country, except those with back-up generators, will lose their mains electricity supply ‘instantaneously and possibly without warning’ in a nationwide blackout, according to the guidance.
This could also result in the loss of mobile and internet communications, water, sewage removal and treatment, fuel, gas and the ability to make electronic payments.
The Department of Health states this would cause ‘significant and widespread disruption and risk to health’.
Public health messages in the event of a power outage would be limited to radio and the UK’s four chief medical officers would provide advice on water shortages, food and nutrition.
On the first day of the blackout, the chief medical officers’ message would say: ‘Please listen carefully… I am about to provide you with important information.
‘You may want to write this down so that you can refer to it later. This advice will be repeated regularly.
‘We have planned in case this extraordinary situation happened, and this advice has been created by doctors and scientists to help keep you and your family healthy.’
The advice is separate from standard guidance on blackouts due to bad weather, and there is no indication that a national blackout is likely any time soon.
The UK has never experienced a nationwide loss of power, and the likelihood is low, but forecasters have warned of localised power cuts in some parts of the country during this weekend’s snowstorm.
Multiple cold weather alerts are active on Saturday as the UK looks set to shiver through the first weekend of the new year.
Six yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place, with the latest warnings reaching into Monday, while several amber snow warnings for northern Scotland and Shetland are in place throughout Saturday.
Snow has already resulted in widespread disruption to roads and railways in parts of northern Scotland, and the Met Office has warned of a risk of power cuts, communities being cut off, and vehicles becoming stranded.
Other areas of the UK saw snow on Friday, and yellow warnings are now in place for parts of the UK, including much of Northern Ireland, until 3pm on Monday.
