Farmer Near RAF Fairford Recounts Night Encounter With Masked Men

A farmer in the village of Whelford, close to RAF Fairford, has described a late-night encounter with a group of masked men after finding three suspicious vans blocking a road, an incident that preceded five arrests on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.

The woman, who asked not to be identified because she was describing what she saw as potential security lapses, said residents had been aware of heightened security at the base for several days before the episode. She said diggers and heavy machinery had been moved into crash gates around the perimeter, which she took as a sign that the authorities expected something might happen.

Recounting the encounter at a crossroads near the village, she said she and her companion came upon a large group of men who appeared to be panicking. She said her vehicle resembled the patrol vehicles used at the site and that its headlights seemed to dazzle the men, who then scattered. Some ran straight across the road into a field, while others headed towards the neighbouring village of Kempford, near a more exposed stretch of the airbase fence.

She estimated that between eight and ten men were present, many with their faces covered and dressed in similar slim-fitting clothing. It was at that point, she said, that she concluded the situation was something more unusual than undercover police activity.

When she tried to raise the alarm, she said her first call to the Ministry of Defence police went unanswered despite ringing repeatedly. She then tried the non-emergency police line, where she was left on hold, before deciding the matter was serious enough to warrant a 999 call.

She also pushed back at suggestions from senior officials that she had held only a partial view of events. She said her picture was of three highly unusual vehicles parked in the middle of the village and a group of unknown men running around, adding that she could not say whether that amounted to the full picture.

Five men were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Dozens of households near the base were evacuated while bomb disposal robots examined the vans.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the farmer had acted quickly and thoughtfully, but described her account as a partial picture of the situation, without elaborating.