Zombie invasion plans put to the test

Last week we brought you the news that a British city was officially acknowledged as being vulnerable to a zombie invasion. Now we can tell you that such an invasion happened… and Leicester survived.

The city made the headlines after a man wrote to the council and, under freedom of information laws, requested details of provisions for the event of a zombie attack. The council has not issued a formal response, but a spokesperson told local radio that although ordinary emergency plans would apply, there were no specific zombie plans.

After the creation of a Facebook page honoring the man who made the request, two users created an event to put the city to the test. An estimated 150 people arrived in the city center on Saturday, where thanks to funding from an online games company, they were provided with zombie-style make-up.

The crowd then made its way from the city’s clock tower to the council’s offices. It was reportedly a generally peaceful march, though a living statue did come under attack by the zombies, suggesting that playing dead may not be the most successful strategy.

Credit does have to go to blogger Lucy Peel for the best line about the event in an on-the-spot report: “Spectators about the same age of the young undead stared on in wide-eyed in amazement at the procession. It looked as if their eyes were ready to pop-out – which would have been fine as they could have then joined in.”

Meanwhile, several readers have noted that officials in the US appear to have done a better job of being prepared: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently posted tips about what citizens should do in the event of a zombie invasion.

(Picture credit: BBC)