A local resident raised the alarm over a suspected car bomb plot at RAF Fairford after reporting several men who appeared to be acting suspiciously to police.
Police said several men had been arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act after viable incendiary devices and chemicals were discovered in a van parked near the Gloucestershire airbase on Sunday.
The group was found alongside three white vans, which are suspected of containing bombs. Footage taken during the arrests showed the men shirtless and handcuffed, suggesting officers may also have feared they were wearing suicide vests.
Video recorded by a resident of nearby Whelford at 2.10am showed the handcuffed men sitting beneath a bright light. A separate image showed the three vans believed to have been used by the group.
Julian Tudsbery, who has lived in Whelford for 30 years, said a resident had reported seeing three “suspicious vans” in the village.
“Evidently, they phoned the airbase police, who didn’t answer the phone,” he said. “It just rang out, so she dialled 999.”
Mr Tudsbery said he was evacuated from his home at around 7am.
He said: “The police were then banging on the door, so I went downstairs in my dressing gown.”
“There were several police officers and three police cars in the drive. They said I needed to evacuate because there had been a major incident, but he couldn’t elaborate.”
A wheeled bomb-squad robot examined three white vans after five men were arrested following a suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford (pictured)
The wheeled robot was filmed moving along a deserted road before examining the three white vans
Five men were pictured shirtless near RAF Fairford after being arrested under the Explosives Act
The men were handcuffed and seated on the road as Army bomb-disposal experts and the SAS were sent in to deal with the threat
Mr Tudsbery said villagers who had been evacuated to a leisure centre were being asked whether they had somewhere to stay overnight.
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He added that he had left his cat, Misty, at the home he shares with his wife.
Aerial footage captured by a helicopter later showed a bomb-disposal robot examining three white vans parked near the airbase.
The wheeled robot travelled along a deserted rural road before approaching the vans. The rear doors of two vehicles were open, with large black items visible inside.
Gloucestershire Police had earlier said the Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team would examine several vehicles in Whelford.
The force has not said which vehicles were being examined and has not confirmed that a bomb-disposal robot was used during the investigation.
RAF Fairford serves as the US Air Force’s command outpost for operations from Europe. The base has also been used for American strikes on Iranian missile sites that have attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The base was the subject of a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in July, with the regime warning Britain not to allow US bombers to fly from the base.
Armed police around the village of Whelford, near RAF Fairford this morning
Counter-terrorism police are understood to be leading the investigation into the incident amid suspicions a potential attack may have been foiled, while experts are investigating the devices to understand whether they were viable explosives.
Jason, who lives in Whelford, said around 40 or 50 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to a nearby leisure centre amid the major incident.
But by 12.30pm he said about 20 people remained there, with some going to friends and family’s houses. Jason said the village ‘always feels pretty safe’.
‘I think some of the other residents have noticed more police patrols and things like that,’ he said. ‘But I’ve not I’ve not really noticed any particular difference.’
Another resident said he was
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