logo
Newport one of cities most ready for zombie apocalypse

Newport one of cities most ready for zombie apocalypse

Recent research by LSS revealed the city had 165 searches per 10,000 people for survival kits and related items from May 2024 to April 2025.
This placed Newport third in Wales, behind Bangor and Wrexham.
In terms of the sheer number of searches, Newport averaged 2,640 monthly, placing it fourth.
Across the UK, searches for survival gear have surged by 236 per cent in the past year.
This increase comes amid the release of the film 28 Years Later and the continued popularity of apocalypse-themed shows like The Last of Us and The Walking Dead.
Despite the rising interest in survival gear, a Freedom of Information request by LSS revealed no UK council has plans for a zombie apocalypse.
The findings were described as 'tongue-in-cheek', but LSS noted that they reflect a 'healthy mentality' towards staying safe in emergencies.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

When my father died, I felt I should have been full of profound words
When my father died, I felt I should have been full of profound words

New Statesman​

time2 days ago

  • New Statesman​

When my father died, I felt I should have been full of profound words

Illustration by Charlotte Trounce The day a doctor ushered me into a corridor and said, in hushed, kindly tones, the words 'possible end-of-life event' (no one ever says, as they do in the movies, 'He has two weeks to live'; it's all so cautious, so couched in caveats), I was supposed to be at a wedding. I had spent the previous day – his first, of this admission – at my father's bedside. He was unwell, yes, but he had been unwell before, and recovered, and gone home, and surely would do so again. But then my stepmother rang: she had spoken to Dad; she was worried. And so I went. And so I stood in that corridor. And so I sat on a bench in the park across from the hospital, grateful for the sunglasses that hid my eyes as I rang my brother, my partner, my best friend, and told them the unimaginable. The dress I had ironed for the wedding remained hanging, pristine, on the outside of my wardrobe for weeks – a constant, needling reminder of what could have been. What was supposed to be. The closest experience I have with which to compare this grief is a break-up. I know all too well the instinct to pick up my phone and text him, to share the tiny everyday happenings to which I know he'd have some cuttingly funny response. The artefacts that litter my flat – the turntable he bought me, the shelves he built for me, the cards he wrote me – provoke a familiar sting. But the comparison is, of course, all too insufficient – not least because I have never really got over a man until meeting another, and my dad is irreplaceable. Popular culture is once more a ghost train of lurking frights. There seems suddenly to be an inordinate number of funerals in every TV programme. On Father's Day, which happened to be the day before my dad's funeral, we sought distraction in my favourite improv comedy group (Shoot from the Hip, whom I once described in this column as 'the sort of men you wouldn't be intimidated to take off your clothes in front of' – a quote that made it on to a promotional poster). But no, even here, in a show that includes an improvised play titled 'Moist Espionage', there are multiple Father's Day references. I seek solace in the cinema, and find myself crying to Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later as Ralph Fiennes' character assures a small boy: 'There are many forms of death. And some are better than others.' Perhaps it seems odd to speak of shock – this was no sudden cardiac episode or freak accident. It had been two and a half years since Dad was diagnosed with the leukaemia that killed him; two and a half years of living with the knowledge that this might be how it all ended. But compared to that long, looping cycle of hope and dread, those last weeks seemed so compressed. In his last days, I couldn't shake the sense that I was doing it wrong. This is, I realise, a very type-A approach to death. But I was acutely aware that I only got one go at this, that whatever I did in those last days could never be undone. Yet there is no rulebook for this most everyday and terrible of things. I felt that I was failing to grasp the emotional gravity of what was happening, and embarrassing myself by overreacting. That I should be brimming with those profound words that I'd never had the courage to speak until now, yet unable to think of a single one. It was a time of curious dissonance. The death of a parent is – in the sense that it happens to almost everyone – one of the most natural, common human experiences. Yet it feels so unnatural, so uncommon. The hours by his bedside were at once interminably long and cruelly brief. The prospect of his death was unfathomable, enormous, yet the days before it were largely mundane, a predictable routine of transfusions, test results and ward rounds. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe How strange it was, walking from the hospital to the station each evening, to pass the crowds of office workers spilling out into the streets outside pubs, revelling in the May sunshine. How dare they! Didn't they know what was happening! And how strange it is, now the funeral is over and the admin done, that there is nothing more to do except, somehow, go on living. [See also: Morgan McSweeney's moment of truth] Related

Revealed: Birmingham's pest control costs soar as bin strikes continue
Revealed: Birmingham's pest control costs soar as bin strikes continue

Spectator

time18-06-2025

  • Spectator

Revealed: Birmingham's pest control costs soar as bin strikes continue

Today marks the 100th day of the Birmingham bin strikes. The City of a Thousand Trades has been subjected to more than three months of refuse piling high on its streets while reports of 'cat-sized rats' feeding on the neglected rubbish have struck fear into Brum's residents. Now Mr S can reveal what is known so far of the detrimental financial and social costs of the bin worker's strike… It was on 11 March 2025 that all-out industrial action kicked off after pay talks between bin workers and the city council broke down. Unite the Union bosses have claimed that changes to how rubbish is collected will mean that 170 workers will face an annual pay cut of £8,000 – figures that Birmingham City Council disputes. They aren't the only figures that council chiefs aren't sure about: they have not yet managed to tally up the total sum of the strikes – from dealing with missed bin collections to paying for clean-up operations – and they don't know how many people have been affected, or which areas have been most impacted. A whopping £90,767.20 was splurged on pest control services in Birmingham this March, while over the Easter weekend alone there 376 complaints of rats But costs are creeping up: a Freedom of Information request by the Taxpayer's Alliance shows that a whopping £90,767.20 was splurged on pest control services in March this year – taking the total spend for 2024/25 to over £416,000. Since then the council has noticed a rise in reports of rats: over the Easter weekend 270 people complained about the pests in their gardens while, alarmingly, 106 people reported rodents inside their houses. In fact, Birmingham City Council has received more than 11,000 complaints since the start of the year. While some of these predate the industrial action, the council says it responded to 75 per cent of those received with an apology and, er, suggestions about other ways to dispose of waste. Steerpike can't imagine this will have reassured the residents of the UK's Venice of the North… Even more concerning are the potential health effects the abandoned waste could have on Brum's population: gastrointestinal disease from rotting waste, fires from residents burning rubbish, blocked emergency access due to waste build-up, the psychological impact of living in filthy conditions and even a risk of physical injury from the build-up and spillage of waste across the streets. Despite these rather grim-sounding risks, the council has officially rated them as 'tolerable' – despite declaring a multi-agency major incident. And the summer months look to bring more problems. 'Higher temperatures may putrefy waste, causing liquid run-off and increasing the risk of contamination,' the council admits. BCC also notes that people living in deprived areas – as well as children, disabled and elderly residents across the city – are at a greater risk of being affected by the adverse health consequences of the strikes. Cheery stuff, eh? There doesn't look to be much let up soon, as Unite members overwhelmingly voted to continue strike action a fortnight ago. While Birmingham City Council claims it had made workers a 'fair and reasonable offer', frustrated residents are demanding it does more. Just yesterday, BCC's meeting had to be adjourned following three separate interruptions from the public gallery. Steerpike has approached the council for comment, while Joanna Marchong, the TPA's investigations campaign manager, said of the issue: Families in Birmingham will be appalled by the council's blatant disregard for their health and safety. Birmingham council is forking out hundreds of thousands of pounds on pest control while branding residents living amongst filth as 'tolerable'. After years of mismanagement, council leaders must focus on tackling bureaucratic waste so that they can get basic service delivery back on track for taxpayers. Strong stuff. Will the council heed the warnings directed its way? Stay tuned…

Bangor is most prepared city in Wales for zombie apocalypse
Bangor is most prepared city in Wales for zombie apocalypse

North Wales Chronicle

time13-06-2025

  • North Wales Chronicle

Bangor is most prepared city in Wales for zombie apocalypse

The city has topped the list as the UK's most survival-ready city, with more people searching for emergency supplies than anywhere else in the country. The research is especially fitting as director Danny Boyle, who graduated from Bangor University in 1978 with a degree in English and drama, is set to release 28 Years Later, the latest instalment in the iconic zombie film series. The study, carried out by LSS, found that in the year to April 2025, there were 553 searches per 10,000 people in Bangor for terms such as survival kit, bug out bag, and emergency kit – the highest rate in the UK. Gary Noble, from LSS, said: "A zombie apocalypse, while great on screen, in books, and in video games, would be a disaster for humanity, and thankfully, will never happen. "While the results are a bit tongue in cheek, it's great to see people taking serious steps to protect themselves though, should an emergency happen." Wrexham came second with 207 searches per 10,000 people, while Newport placed third with 165. In terms of total search volume, Cardiff led the way with an average of 4,350 searches per month, followed by Swansea with 3,860 and Wrexham with 2,800. Mr Noble said: "Having a survival kit, food supplies, medical supplies, and even a bug out bag in case you need to dash quickly, are all smart things to have on hand. "While you might not need them to escape a zombie horde, they're great to have in case of an injury, a power cut, or an emergency last minute trip to support a loved one." LSS also submitted Freedom of Information requests to councils across the UK to see if any had official plans for a zombie outbreak – none did. READ MORE: European surgeons visit Ysbyty Gwynedd to learn robotic knee surgery techniques Dorset Council responded: "The concept of a zombie apocalypse was referenced tongue in cheek in an article explaining what the emergency planning team do, which commenced 'Have you ever wondered what the emergency planning team do? "The rumours of them hiding away in a darkened bunker drawing up plans of how to respond to the end of the world or a zombie apocalypse are (largely) untrue. "Although we do have a bunker!'" Nationally, searches for survival kit have increased by 236 per cent over the past year.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store