Six British children have been fostered in Austria after it was discovered that they were living in an abandoned warehouse with their parents.
Police have said her father, a 54-year-old Austrian, is a member of the far-right Reichsburger movement and is a known Holocaust denier.
Social services were called to the property in Obritz, near the Czech border, when locals became concerned about the well-being of the children.
But when they tried to get in, the father attacked them with pepper spray.
The police were called and the man was arrested. He has since been released on bail pending an investigation.
The children, aged between seven months and five years, were taken to their mother to be checked at the hospital.
Police spokesman Stefan Loidl said they were “in good health and not neglected.”
The children are currently being cared for by social services.
Local authorities said they believed the family had been living in the illegal hideout for several months, but there had been complaints about them in recent weeks.
Erich Greil, Orbritz’s deputy mayor, said: “The surveillance cameras in front of the basement were particularly annoying and residents would sometimes hear children’s voices in the basement and as soon as they got closer, everything was silent.”
Police said there were no indications of sexual abuse of the children found in the basement.
Loidl added that “a long gun, two crossbows and various airsoft guns” were found in the basement.
