A farmer who spotted men 'hanging around' near RAF Fairford raised the alarm, leading to the arrest of five suspects in an alleged terror plot. The woman called 999 at around 12.45am after seeing three suspicious vans close to the U.S.-operated airbase in Gloucestershire. She also warned residents via a local WhatsApp group to lock their doors and windows as police rushed to the scene.
Police declare major incident
Police declared a major incident and evacuated residents from their homes in Whelford, a village about one mile from RAF Fairford. Five men were later arrested, and counter-terrorism detectives are investigating whether the suspects have links to Iran. President Donald Trump commented on the incident, saying the suspects were "looking to do big damage", adding that U.S. intelligence "had them under view for a long time, and we got them."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the incident as "deeply concerning" while images from the scene showed five shirtless men being held near the Gloucestershire base. Aerial footage also showed a bomb disposal robot circling three white vans, two of which had open rear doors. Large black barrels were seen scattered outside.
Investigation ongoing
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said investigators were still in the "early stages of an investigation, and five men remain in custody." She added that Counter Terrorism officers were "working closely" with partners to "understand the circumstances of the incident." Ms Evans said: "We continue to work with Gloucestershire Police to keep the community safe as we work to gather evidence from the scene."
A 400m cordon was put in place around the vehicles while the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit conducted examinations of the situation, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner confirmed. In total, 85 households were evacuated as a precaution, with residents returning on Sunday evening (September 27).
Local reaction
The woman who called 999 alerted authorities that she had seen men "hanging around" two vans that appeared to belong to them. She had spotted the suspects and abandoned vehicles on a quiet country road while driving home from a party in the early hours, describing how she drove away before calling police and warning a local WhatsApp group to 'lock their doors'. Less than 25 minutes later, officers had arrived and apprehended five men, with footage showing the handcuffed suspects sat in the road.
The 999-caller said she felt "quite lucky", fearing what may have happened if the men had spotted her and tried to stop her from contacting 999. One other local, who asked not to be named, said: "Thank goodness this woman in the village saw what she saw and had the wit to call the cops out quickly. She may well have saved a lot of lives. She saw that these guys hanging around the two vans and said they were acting suspiciously and did not appear to be locals."
The man who took the photos said: "I couldn't tell what was being shouted but as I got nearer the window, I could see the road was being lit up by blue flashing lights from police vehicles. On one side of the road, officers had five men lined up. They all had their shirts removed. They were instructed to sit down. They were patted down by the officers and then had their shoes and socks removed. I think they must have been there for about half an hour. The suspects were then told to get up and were walked round the corner. I lost sight of them after that but I presumed they were put in police vans and led away. This all happened just outside the perimeter of RAF Fairford. The police are investigating three work vans parked a few hundred yards from my house. We've not been told much, we were just asked to evacuate our homes early this morning."
Another woman living on the base's perimeter described an apparent increase in military security in recent days. The airbase has been at the centre of growing tensions over the UK's support for U.S. military action against Iran after ministers allowed American forces to use the base for strikes on Iranian missile sites accused of threatening vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The airbase was singled out in a warning from Iran's Revolutionary Guards in July, who told Britain not to allow U.S. bombers to fly from Fairford. It is understood all other U.S. bases have been placed on Delta alert, the country's highest security status.
