Home safety · UK

Britain Must Be Ready for War, Warns Defence Secretary — Every Home Is Told to Prepare for Several Days of Disruption

But fewer than 1 in 4 of us own the one item that matters most when the power goes.

By the Sentinelle PRO team · October 2026 · 6-minute read

On 22 October 2026, the government launched "Be Ready" — a national campaign telling every household in the UK to prepare for disruption to "power, water, phones and the internet".¹ Days later, the Defence Secretary warned that Britain must be ready for war: the threats are "not hypothetical but real, and not somewhere else but increasingly here".²

The most frightening thing about a long power cut isn't the dark. It's the silence that comes after it.

Your phone, your Wi-Fi and your landline all run on electricity. When the power goes, they go with it. And the official checklist is blunt: "Being ready for 3 days helps you manage while support reaches those most in need."³ For those first days, your family may be on its own.

Here's what the government is asking for. And what prepared families are already doing about it.

(Based on the UK Government's "Be Ready" campaign, launched 22 October 2026 — GOV.UK.)

Keep Your Family Protected → The dependency nobody mentions

When the Power Goes, Your Phone Goes Silent — Within Hours

Most people think their phone will keep them connected in a power cut. It won't.

The lights go out at ten past six. Then the Wi-Fi drops. Then, one by one, the bars disappear. You try your mum. Nothing.

Here's how fast it falls apart:

• The first secondYour router dies. And landlines are going digital: Ofcom warns they "will not work in a power cut unless there is a battery back-up."⁴
• The first hourYour mobile needs a mast, and the mast needs electricity. Only around 1 in 5 UK mast sites has even an hour of backup power.⁵
• After thatNo calls. No texts. No news. Even the government's emergency alerts only reach phones "in range of a mast".⁶
• Day two and beyondThe government warns outages could "potentially last several days"⁷ — and admits the authorities "may not be able to reach everyone who needs support in the first few hours or days."⁸

No signal. No news. No help. Just your family and the dark.

The maths every family gets wrong

Your Phone Battery Is a Countdown

You think a phone and a power bank have you covered. Do the maths.

A charged power bank only stays charged until you use it. Spare batteries run flat. And in a long power cut, there's no socket to refill anything.

This isn't a doomsday scenario. It has already happened here.

During Storm Arwen, more than 74,000 customers were without power for over 48 hours — the last homes waited 13 days.¹¹

None of these was an attack. That was just weather.

Stored power isn't a plan. It's a countdown.

What the government is asking for

Stop Storing Power. Start Making It.

The official Be Ready checklist asks every household for:³

Most homes have a torch somewhere. Many have a power bank. But fewer than 1 in 4 of us have a battery, solar or wind-up radio.¹²

That's the one that decides everything. In Lancaster, "local radio was the best way of finding out what was going on" — but "many people did not have a suitable battery-powered radio".¹⁰

So prepared families have made one simple change. They've stopped asking "how much power can I store?" — because every battery runs down. They've started asking "how do I make my own, for as long as this lasts?"

Here's how they're doing it.

Don't Be Left in the Dark →

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The device prepared families trust

Sentinelle PRO: Torch, Radio and Power Bank — and It Makes Its Own Power

Sentinelle PRO covers all three items on the government's list in one smartphone-sized device — and unlike a power bank or a battery radio, it doesn't have to stay flat. It recharges from daylight or your own two hands.

1. Makes its own powerSolar panel by day, hand crank by night. Five minutes of cranking gives almost two full phone charges.*
2. Keeps your phone aliveBuilt-in 2,000 mAh power bank — so your phone is ready the moment there's a signal.
3. Tells you what's happeningAM/FM radio — BBC local radio and local stations, with no Wi-Fi, no signal and no mains.
4. Lights the darkBuilt-in LED torch. No candles. No hunting for batteries.
5. Calls attentionSOS alarm.

230 g. It waits in a drawer until the night everything else stops working.

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✓ Works without mains power✓ Torch + radio + power bank✓ 120,000+ sold†✓ ★ 4.8/5

Built for British Homes. Trusted by Those Who Prepare for a Living.

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One outage can leave your whole family cut off. Sentinelle PRO keeps you informed, lit and reachable — with no mains, no signal and no spare batteries.

One for your home. One for Mum and Dad. Picture your parents on the first night of a long power cut — alone, in the cold, in the dark, with a phone that can't reach you. Don't let that be them.

Protect Your Family Before It Happens →

Winter is coming — and once the power goes, it\'s too late to order. When Spain\'s grid went down, small shops sold out of portable radios.¹³

Frequently Asked Questions

I already have a phone and a power bank. Isn't that enough?

Both run out — and in a power cut you can't recharge either. Sentinelle PRO recharges from daylight or the hand crank, again and again, and adds the radio and torch the government's list asks for.

It won't happen here.

That Somerset village and the city of Lancaster are ordinary places. And the government isn't asking only people in storm areas to prepare — it's asking every home.¹

Is it worth £49.90?

It's three items from the government's checklist in one device, and it never needs spare batteries. Try it for 30 days — if it's not for you, send it back for a full refund.

Does it get DAB?

No — and we won't pretend otherwise. It receives AM and FM. The government's checklist specifically asks for an FM radio.³

How do I charge it?

Three ways: by cable from the mains, from daylight through the solar panel, or with the hand crank. Five minutes of cranking gives almost two full phone charges.*

Is it hard to use?

No. A dial for the radio, a switch for the torch, a handle to crank. If your parents can use a kettle, they can use this.

What if I don't like it?

Send it back within 30 days for a full refund. This is in addition to your statutory rights, including your right to cancel within 14 days of delivery.

Ready to get prepared?

The Government Has Told You. Now It's Up to You.

You've seen the announcement. You've read the checklist. The families who come through those first days safely will be the ones who got ready before the lights went out — not after.

Tick all three items on the government's list today. With one device.

Get Sentinelle PRO Before It's Too Late →

✓ Free UK delivery✓ 30-day money-back guarantee✓ From £41.30 each