Vigilant farmer helps foil terror scare near RAF Fairford

A quick-thinking local farmer has been praised after spotting three suspicious vehicles apparently travelling towards RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Speaking via a spoken voiceover on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the female farmer described how a late-night drive home following a party turned into a security incident.

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The farmer, who does not want to be named, found the driveway of the farm and the road blocked by three white vans in a country lane near the military base, which has been used by the US Air Force.

She said that, after turning her car around, she saw a group of hooded and masked men run from the vehicles and scatter, with some heading into nearby fields and others towards the neighbouring village of Kempsford.

The farmer realised that something “highly unusual” was taking place and immediately called the MoD police. The phone rang out but no one picked up.

999 call

She subsequently called 999 at about 1.36am to report what she had seen. Gloucestershire Police said they had already received a call at about 12.45am concerning three suspicious vehicles apparently travelling towards RAF Fairford.

“Within 10 minutes the village was full of armed police,” the farmer told the BBC. “I think it was pure luck that I arrived in the village at a similar time to the vans.”

The farmer said she was aware of plainclothes police officers monitoring the roads around RAF Fairford in the past few days, but said she was “absolutely staggered” it was left for her to report this.

RAF Fairford © Ryan stock.adobe

She believes her 999 call disrupted whatever plans the suspects may have had.

The alert led Gloucestershire Police and counter-terrorism officers to mount a major security operation.

A 400-metre cordon was thrown around the area, and roughly 85 households in the nearby village of Whelford were evacuated while British Army explosive ordnance disposal teams examined the vans.

Five men were arrested initially on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and later on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.

Contradictory claims

Appearing on the same broadcast, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner provided expert analysis on the unfolding drama.

However, Mr Gardner’s assessment of a spontaneous, citizen-led discovery contrasted sharply with remarks made earlier by US president Donald Trump.

Mr Trump claimed that American and British authorities had already been tracking the suspects.

The president told reporters: “Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort.”

Mr Trump also said the suspects had been “under view for a long time”.

Counter-terrorism police have said the investigation remains in its early stages as forensic and explosive-ordnance teams examine the vehicles and surrounding area.

Police have not yet publicly established the nature of the suspected plot, its intended target or its motive.