Were they preparing for the apocalypse? Cupboard closed for up to 40 years is finally opened

This unassuming block of flats was hiding something in a cupboard unopened for up to 40 years (Picture: Solent)

It looks unassuming from the outside.
However, this block of flats has been hiding a secret for up to 40 years.
Caretaker Ronald Mclintock had long been bothered by the mysterious cupboard on the tower block’s 11th floor.
Apparently belonging to no one in the block, it had been locked for years. Did it contain human remains? Or a stockpile of weaponry?

Skeletons in the closet… the locked cupboard made many wonder what – or who – could be inside (Picture: File/Alamy)

If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that all is never as it seems behind closed doors.
This seemingly normal house actually hid a shockingly garish purple interior and this homeowner wondered if he was being played when he discovered a giant Monopoly board under the carpet.
And who can forget the apartment with a hidden dungeon as well as the home that contained a secret staircase leading to a mysterious room.
However, this discovery in a tower block in Hove left Mr Mclintock wondering if someone was preparing for the apocalypse.

The end is nigh? Perhaps the cupboard’s former owner was stockpiling weaponry (Picture: File/Alamy)

Unable to bear the suspense, the caretaker used an angle grinder to break the lock on the cupboard at the top of the stairwell.
Inside, the 64-year-old discovered a well-organised stockpile of old food and essential items - 250 cans, all perfectly preserved from the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr Mclintock told the Argus: ‘It was pure curiosity. I thought it was just going to be full of rubbish so when I popped it open I got quite a shock.
‘No one can throw any light on where it all came from. There were hundreds of old cans and goods, there was probably at least 250 items stored in the cupboard.

Stockpile: The cupboard contained perfectly preserved food from the 1970s and 1980s (Picture: Solent)

‘Someone had obviously spent a lot of money and were stocking up for some reason. Apart from an exploded tin of prunes, it was in perfect condition.’
The cupboard’s content are post-decimal 1971 but still have half pence on their prices, which were abolished in 1984.
He added: ‘The seventies was a very uncertain time, with the miner’s strikes, the three day week and the cold war – so maybe someone was preparing for the apocalypse.
‘I am reluctant to dispose of it as it is a little treasure trove of history – whoever stocked it up must have spent a fortune.’