British scientists have brewed artisan vodka from grain grown in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone.

The drink, branded Atomik, is radioactivity-free and safe to drink.

Researchers first distilled alcohol from the crop before diluting it with water.

The mineral water was taken from an aquifer in Chernobyl town, in northern Ukraine, which is free from contamination.

A nuclear accident devastated the region in 1986, when a series of explosions destroyed Reactor Number 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Show all 25 1 /25 Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Evening in the ghost town of Pripyat John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites A gas mask hangs in a building inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Remains of Soviet propaganda in one of the barracks of the abandoned anti-aircraft base Volkhov near the Chernobyl NPP John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites The shell of a television stands inside a building in the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites A children's play area inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites A Soviet-era classroom in the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Tourists inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Duga was a Soviet over-the-horizon (OTH) radar system used as part of the Soviet missile defense early-warning radar network John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites In the Pripyat abandoned apartments you can still see the abandoned belongings of evacuated residents of the city John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites "Ambulance car model RAF-2203 Latvija (nickname Rafik) on the background of the Medical Sanitary Unit 126 in Pripyat. It was a minibus designed and developed by Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika from 1976–1997. They were widely used throughout the USSR as medical cars. Model RAF-2203 also were used in Pripyat" John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Remains of Soviet propaganda in one of the barracks of the abandoned anti-aircraft base Volkhov near the Chernobyl NPP Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites An empty swimming pool inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites "Illegal Chernobyl explorers cross the Uzh river in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. This is the time when you can safely walk around the abandoned without fear of being caught by the police" John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites "A couple of years ago the Ukrainian army began to conduct military exercises in the city of Pripyat. Traces of bullets on the walls and glass of the city are not such a rare phenomenon in Pripyat today" John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Interior of a flat in the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites "Chernobyl explorer on the top of huge Soviet radar “Russian woodpecker” or Duga radar. As a rule, we climb up Duga radar at dawn. From a height of 150 metres you have an incredible view of the expanses of the Chernobyl zone" John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Interior of a building in the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites "The perimeter of the Chernobyl exclusion zone is protected by barbed wire. But this does not stop the fans of dark tourism" John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites The Ferris wheel in the amusement park of the ghost city of Pripyat is the hallmark of the city. This ferris wheel was supposed to be launched on May 1, 1986, but the Chernobyl accident destroyed these plans forever John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites "Pripyat is the main goal of many illegal Chernobyl explorers. To get to the city you need to walk about 40 km on foot. On the way to the ghost town, explorers spend the night in the abandoned villages of the Chernobyl zone" John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites The Pripyat Ferris Wheel John Levin Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Interior of a flat in the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Interior of a building in the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites From inside a kindergarten in the Chernobyl exclusion zone Ryan Longstaff/SWNS Illegal tour of Chernobyl visits forgotten sites Another view of the Pripyat Ferris Wheel Ryan Longstaff/SWNS

Radioactive contamination was widespread following the disaster and a 1,622 square mile exclusion zone was set up around the reactor.

Around 300,000 people were permanently evacuated from the region after the accident.

The vodka is the first consumer product to be made in the exclusion zone since 1986.

“I think this is the most important bottle of spirits in the world because it could help the economic recovery of communities living in and around the abandoned areas,” said Jim Smith, a professor of environmental science at the University of Portsmouth.

“Many thousands of people are still living in the Zone of Obligatory Resettlement where new investment and use of agricultural land is still forbidden.”

Mr Smith hopes to produce more of the traditionally brewed vodka.

The team intends to sell the alcohol through The Chernobyl Spirit Company, a social enterprise.

They plan to donate 75 per cent of the profits made to people in Ukraine who were affected by the disaster.

“The team found some radioactivity in the grain: Strontium-90 is slightly above the cautious Ukrainian limit,” a University of Portsmouth spokesperson said.

“But, because distilling reduces any impurities in the original grain, the only radioactivity the researchers could detect in the alcohol is natural Carbon-14 at the same level you would expect in any spirit drink.”

Mr Smith said he did not believe the exclusion zone should be extensively used for agriculture.

”It is now a wildlife reserve but there are other areas where people live but agriculture is still banned,” he said.

“Thirty-three years on, many abandoned areas could now be used to grow crops safely without the need for distillation.

“We aim to make a high-value product to support economic development of areas outside the main exclusion zone where radiation isn’t now a significant health risk.”

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Oleg Nasvit, first deputy head of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management, said: “We welcome this initiative to use abandoned lands to help local communities.”

He added: “I’d call this a high-quality moonshine – it isn’t typical of a more highly purified vodka, but has the flavour of the grain from our original Ukrainian distillation methods – I like it.”