Five men have been arrested under the Explosives Act after alleged incendiary devices and chemicals were found in a van near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, prompting the evacuation of residents from a nearby village.
The arrests followed a report from a farmer who said she saw three white vans blocking a rural road and a group of masked men scattering into fields and towards the airbase in the early hours of Sunday.
She drove away before contacting police and warning neighbours in a local WhatsApp group to lock their doors. The men were detained less than 25 minutes later, with footage showing them handcuffed and sitting on the road.
The farmer said: “I just thought what the hell are they doing… I saw a group of Middle Eastern-looking young guys running off through the trees. Some of them had masks or balaclavas on, and they all scattered ahead of us as we drove back past.”
She added: “Some of them ran into the fields, and some of them turned to run towards the air base. We realised this was something pretty serious.”
The discovery triggered a major operation involving armed police, Army bomb disposal experts and counter-terrorism officers. A wheeled robot was filmed examining three white vans parked near the village of Whelford.
The rear doors of two vehicles were open, with large black objects visible inside. Gloucestershire Police said the Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team would examine a number of vehicles, but did not confirm which vans were involved.
Police have not publicly confirmed that an attack was being planned. However, counter-terrorism officers are understood to be leading the investigation amid suspicions that a potential attack may have been prevented.
Between 40 and 50 residents were evacuated from their homes and taken to a leisure centre. One resident, Julian Tudsbery, said police arrived at his home at about 7am and told him to leave because there had been a major incident.
“There were several police, three police cars in the drive, and they said you need to evacuate, there’s been a major incident,” he said.
Jason, a 50-year-old resident, said he left with his family, two cats and an 11-week-old puppy. He said residents had been woken by police at about 6am after reports of vans blocking one of the village lanes.
The incident took place at a time of heightened security around RAF Fairford, the US Air Force’s European command outpost. The base has been used for American strikes on Iranian missile sites attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and was the subject of a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in July.
US President Donald Trump said the men had already been under investigation. “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them. Thank you,” he said.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the incident was “contained” and thanked emergency services for their response.
She said: “Whilst investigations are ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.” Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the public could be reassured that the incident was being dealt with.
The farmer said she felt “quite lucky”, adding: “It’s pretty incredible to think that a plucky amateur should not be spotting an unusual bit of activity at 1am when the air base is on high alert.”
