UK village on edge over threats to air base in terror alert

Residents in a bucolic corner of southwestern England said they were "spooked" by an air base used by the US military in its war against Iran as bomb experts descended on the area on Sunday.

Stephanie's family was one of 85 households evacuated from the village of Whelford, around a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford air base, in the early hours of Sunday after authorities were alerted to "suspicious vehicles".

Police have not yet confirmed the nature or source of the threat near the base, but said they arrested five men on suspicion of "preparing a terrorist act". Broadcast aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot moving around the vans.

A resident told UK media she had alerted emergency services after seeing three vans blocking a road near the village and a group of men wearing hoods and balaclavas.

Villagers were evacuated to a leisure centre in the nearby town of Cirencester, where Stephanie was planning to hunker down for the night with her puppy and two cats as a police cordon remained in place.

"I'm absolutely exhausted," Stephanie, who didn't want to share her last name, told AFP, adding the danger of the situation "didn't quite hit me till now".

"It's quite a lovely, small village. It's a real shame," said Stephanie.

"You don't expect anything to happen around here. It's just a lovely quaint area of the Cotswolds," said 20-year-old university student George Currie, who lives in the market town of Cirencester, home to a medieval church and neat rows of limestone houses.

"I'm sure all the residents of Fairford are quite spooked and jumped about it," said Currie.

"With how important Fairford has been with the air base, I'd be quite scared to live there at the moment."

In March, Britain gave the United States permission to use Fairford air base for "specific defensive operations into Iran" to destroy Iranian missiles.

Since then, US bombers and other planes have been seen taking off and landing from the airfield.

Fairford has previously been used by the US military for operations during the Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War.

'Reality check'

A dog-walker in Cirencester, who did not want to give his name, said his wife had been "worried about threats to Fairford".

So the news "was like her nightmares have come true," said the man.

Residents said the air base is generally quiet apart from a major annual airshow that brings visitors from several countries.

"It's no trouble at all," said the dog walker about living near the base. "But actually using it as a bomber base is a bit worrying."

"Normally, RAF Fairford is very quiet but at the moment, with Epic Fury, that's changed," local councillor Tristan Wilkinson told AFP, referring to the US military codename for its attacks on Iran.

"The local community and the authorities have had greater vigilance around the base," in recent months, Wilkinson added.

The interior ministry has previously accused Iran and Russia of using proxies to carry out criminal activities on their behalf on UK territory.

"I mean, with everything that's been going on, with the activity around the air base, something like that is bound to happen," said 21-year-old Victor Compton.

"The effects of war reach into the safest parts of the world," added the university student, saying it was a "bit of a reality check".