Farmer's chance encounter with vans on country road leads to terrorism arrests near RAF base

A chance encounter on a country road near the village of Whelford has been credited with alerting police to activity that led to arrests linked to a suspected plot near RAF Fairford, an airbase that had reportedly been on high alert.

According to local accounts, a resident was driving home from a party in the early hours of Sunday when she saw three white vans parked along the road. She said she immediately felt suspicious, and her concern deepened when she noticed a group of men described as hooded and wearing balaclavas near the vehicles.

A quick call to police

The resident, who asked not to be named but who local people say is a farmer in the area, called 999. Police arrived at the scene around 15 minutes later, according to the account she gave to the Press Association.

She said she believed her decision to call the police had disrupted whatever the group had been planning, adding that she found it striking that an ordinary resident had spotted unusual activity at around 1am even as the nearby airbase was said to be on high alert.

Local residents said members of a village WhatsApp group had separately noticed suspicious activity around the vans overnight, suggesting that community vigilance played a role alongside the resident's own observation.

Further details about the nature of the suspected plot, the number of arrests made, and any charges have not been fully disclosed. The circumstances of the case, including the exact sequence of events leading to the police response, remain the subject of ongoing inquiries.