It's been warned that Britain faces conscription within five years

After years of experts increasingly warning that Putin is preparing for war with NATO, and the US and Israel launching attacks on Iran last week, tensions have been escalating across the globe.

However, in the case of a third world war, who would actually be fighting it?

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Warnings over conscription in the UK

Military experts have long warned that army numbers are not high enough, with former MP and ex-British Army officer Dr Mike Martin warning that conscription would be needed.

“Would we need to conscript? Yeah, we would. Because ultimately, we’re not at a stage yet where you can replace people with drones," he told the Big Issue.

“We’re a long way off from that. Drones are fine, as far as they go, but you still need people to occupy villages, hold ground, and all the rest of it. And that’s not going to change for quite some time.”

Although Keir Starmer previously insisted that “nobody is talking about conscription” during an appearance on the News Agents podcast, it wasn't that long ago that Rishi Sunak was proposing national service for all 18-year-olds.

Just a few weeks ago, former defence minister Tobias Ellwood warned that the UK will have conscription 'within five years'.

"Society in Britain is still in denial at just how dangerous our world is becoming," he told The i Paper.

"And the confirmation should now be there that America is dialling back and Russia is dialling up.”

Who is likely to get conscripted if WW3 kicks off?

Firstly, young and fit men are the most likely to get drafted in to serve, particularly those aged  18 to 25. In 1939, those aged 21 and 22 were conscripted before the war had even begun. Rules then changed to include men aged 18 to 41.

Single people without kids are also more likely to be drafted. In WW2, people without kids were drafted first, to avoid disrupting families.

Women are also likely to face conscription, despite previously never having been drafted for direct combat. In WW2, women aged 20 to 30 were drafted in for roles related to the war, such as nursing, munitions and auxiliary roles.

Whether women would be drafted in for combat roles is still uncertain, but a recent YouGov poll said 72 per cent of Brits support women on the frontlines.

Former soldiers and reservists are also likely to be drafted, as they already have the training needed to get going quickly.

If the war really dragged on, older people could be drafted in, with people aged up to 51 being drafted by the end of WW2. Those aged 52 to 60 also had to take on a role in civil defence, so no one could really escape their responsibilities.

Households urged to buy one crucial item to prepare for war

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Households are being urged to buy one appliance to prepare for the potential outbreak of WW3, or other mass disruptions like another pandemic, internet outages, and extreme weather conditions.

The government runs a website to prepare the public for national disruptions including war, extreme weather and cyber attacks.

As part of its list of advice for households, people are being told to buy one crucial item – battery or wind-up radios.

This is because this type of radio doesn’t need power from the National Grid, which may be disrupted during a crisis.

You can get a wind-up radio from Amazon here for your home emergency kit. And it can be used for activities such as hiking and camping.