A local villager has been credited with potentially thwarting a major security breach at RAF Fairford after she stumbled upon a group of masked men gathering near the perimeter of the airbase in the early hours of Sunday.
The woman, who was driving home from a late-night gathering, alerted police after encountering three vans blocking a rural road near the facility. Her quick thinking and 999 call triggered a major police response that resulted in the arrest of five men on suspicion of terrorism and explosive-related offences.
Recounting the moment she realized something was wrong, the resident described seeing men in balaclavas and hooded clothing fleeing into the surrounding fields and toward the tree line as her vehicle approached.
“They would have seen the bright headlights,” she said. “They probably thought we were the police and panicked. It would appear that by doing so, I just derailed whatever they were planning.”
The incident prompted a significant security operation, with approximately 85 households in the nearby village of Whelford evacuated as a precaution while authorities secured the area. The airbase, which had been on high alert due to a previously identified “credible threat,” was placed into an immediate lockdown as armed officers swarmed the site.
The witness, who also issued warnings to fellow residents via a local WhatsApp group, later described the experience as “absolutely astonishing.”
“A plucky amateur shouldn’t be spotting an unusual bit of activity at 1am when the air base is on high alert,” she noted. She described the suspicious vans as having fake telephone numbers and branding, leading her to believe they had been abandoned by the group just moments before she arrived.
“I saw a group of young guys running off through the trees. Some of them had masks or balaclavas on, and they all scattered,” she added. “Thinking about it now, and what could have happened if they had tried to stop me from driving away, I am quite lucky. It is pretty incredible, realizing you had a brush with potential terrorists face to face and may have foiled a terrorist plot.”
The intervention of the resident appears to have been the catalyst for the authorities’ swift reaction, with police arriving on the scene just 15 minutes after the emergency call.
Local residents have reported an increased security presence at RAF Fairford in recent weeks, citing the construction of concrete barriers and more stringent gate patrols as evidence of the base’s heightened state of readiness.
Investigations into the five suspects remain ongoing, with a heavy police presence maintained around the site throughout the day. Authorities have yet to release further details on the identities of those arrested or the specific nature of the suspected plot.
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