Inside Austrian cellars where father is accused of keeping his six children trends now
A dad of six accused of keeping his young children in a cellar has blasted authorities for 'sticking their noses in' after inviting MailOnline into his home to prove his innocence.
Tom Landon, 54, was held by police after he used pepper spray on social workers, who had been called to investigate after neighbours reported crying kids.
Officials found three boys and three girls aged between seven months and seven years in the cellar of the house, which had been recently bought by Landon in the picturesque Austrian village of Obritz, close to the Czech border and 60 miles north of Vienna.
But after spending 24 hours in police custody he told MailOnline he had been held simply because his 'off grid' lifestyle had annoyed local deputy mayor Erich Greil who was running for re-election.
Tom Landon, 54, pictured above, spent 24 hours in police custody after officials found three boys and three girls aged between seven months and seven years in the cellar of his house
The children were found in the cellar, pictured above, underneath his house he recently bought in the picturesque Austrian village of Obritz, close to the Czech border and 60 miles north of Vienna
And he also dismissed reports in local media his family were British insisting his wife was German and the children Austrian.
Mr Landon - who has written more than 30 books critical of his country's government – said: 'This has been very traumatic for my wife and children and it's because people like the deputy mayor have been sticking their noses in where they don't need to be.
'My family is terrified, they won't come back to the house where we lived for nearly a year because they are scared the police may return. Do you know we had police here with guns and a battering ram to get access to my property ?
'And all because the deputy mayor doesn't like our chosen lifestyle and wants us out. Do you really think I would be free if I had been keeping my young children in a cellar ?'
Mr Landon, who lived in London before moving back to his native Austria, invited MailOnline inside the six properties he has bought and which he intended to renovate and give one to each child when they were older.
Police have marked the outside of each one with red paint so they can be easily identified for any future investigation on child cruelty but the case is expected to be dropped by local prosecutors.
He told MailOnline: 'I admit I used pepper spray but it barely touched the people who came here, and I was simply defending myself because these people failed to identify themselves.
'I saw two men outside looking at my property and they were shouting at me to come out – one said 'We have reason to believe you have children in here and they are unsafe and not going to school'.
Mr Landon, who lived in London before moving back to his native Austria, has written more than 30 books critical of his country's government
In an exclusive interview with the Mail Landon said: ' Do you know we had police here with guns and a battering ram to get access to my property ? And all because the deputy mayor doesn't like our chosen lifestyle and wants us out. Do you really think I would be free if I had been keeping my young children in a cellar ?'
Mr Landon added: 'I admit I used pepper spray but it barely touched the people who came here and I was simply defending myself because these people failed to identify themselves'
Landon dismissed reports in local media his family were British insisting his wife was German and the children Austrian
'I said they were my children, they were perfectly safe and we were teaching
