Those living near RAF Fairford have been used to disturbance from protesters and a heavy police presence after the decision to allow the US air force to use it as a base for attacks on Iran. But in recent weeks, people have noticed dramatically increased security measures, with the gates of the base newly barricaded. She described them as “very big tractors and things like that” parked behind gates into the base, adding: “So obviously they’re taking security seriously.” The resident said “great big concrete walls” had also been placed behind some gates, including on Dunfield Loop and Whelford Road.
If local people had questioned the necessity of those steps, they may have been persuaded this weekend. In the very early hours of Sunday morning, some in the nearby village of Whelford noticed suspicious activity around three vans parked there. The local WhatsApp group lit up with messages from people wondering what to do about the vehicles blocking a lane in the village.
One resident of Whelford, named Jason, who declined to give his surname, said they were first aware something was happening overnight at about 1.30am, when people on the chat group started discussing the vans. Julian Tudsbery, who has lived in Whelford for 30 years, said one person had reported three “suspicious vans” in the village in the early hours of Sunday morning. They were taken to a nearby leisure centre.
Tudsbery added: “[The police] were then banging on the door, so I went downstairs in my dressing gown. Thirty emergency vehicles were seen in the village, with the army, a bomb squad and counter-terrorism police all investigating at the scene. Explosives experts were seen examining the three vans.
The RAF base has come to prominence since March, and the beginning of the US-Israeli war with Iran. From the perimeter of the RAF base it has been possible to see heavy bombs being loaded on to American aircraft. Fairford has a particularly long runway, which extends almost 2 miles (3km).
It is reinforced to support heavy bombers such as the B-1 and B-52, which have been deployed in attacks on Iran. The aircraft are capable of carrying large payloads, including “bunker buster” bombs. Jason, 50, was evacuated to Cirencester leisure centre at 6am on Sunday with his family and 11-week-old puppy, Poppy, and friends who were visiting from London.
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