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Late-night drive and a 999 call: farmer’s chance encounter that led to terrorism arrests at RAF base
UK News•September 27, 2026 at 10:55 PMNational

Late-night drive and a 999 call: farmer’s chance encounter that led to terrorism arrests at RAF base

By Jamie Grierson and Helena Horton•The Guardian - UK News

Local people say members of WhatsApp group noticed suspicious activity around vans in Whelford overnightIn the early hours of Sunday morning, a resident of the village of Whelford was driving home from a party when she saw three white vans parked on a country road. She was immediately suspicious, she said, and all the more so when she spotted a “large group of hooded and balaclavaed” men. She called 999 and police arrived on the scene 15 minutes later.The resident, who asked not to be named but reportedly is a local farmer, told the Press Association: “It would appear that by doing so I just derailed whatever they [the men] were planning. A plucky amateur shouldn’t be spotting an unusual bit of activity at 1am when the airbase is on high alert. I think it’s absolutely astonishing.” Continue reading...

Local people say members of WhatsApp group noticed suspicious activity around vans in Whelford overnight

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a resident of the village of Whelford was driving home from a party when she saw three white vans parked on a country road. She was immediately suspicious, she said, and all the more so when she spotted a “large group of hooded and balaclavaed” men. She called 999 and police arrived on the scene 15 minutes later.

The resident, who asked not to be named but reportedly is a local farmer, told the Press Association: “It would appear that by doing so I just derailed whatever they [the men] were planning. A plucky amateur shouldn’t be spotting an unusual bit of activity at 1am when the airbase is on high alert. I think it’s absolutely astonishing.”

Continue reading...

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