Police Response to Suspicious Vehicles Incident

And so I'm from the, the local force.

So I'm from Gloucestershire Constabulary, just to, just to make that clear.

So at around one, uh, twelve forty-five AM today, Sunday the

twenty-seventh of September,

police received a call relating to three suspicious vehicles traveling towards

RAF Fairford.

Armed officers responded

and subsequently arrested five men in the Welford area on suspicion of committing

offenses under the Explosives Act.

The men were taken into custody, where they remain.

A four hundred meter cordon has been put in place around the vehicles while the

Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit examine them.

As a precaution, around eighty-five households have been

advised to evacuate

while these examinations take place.

A nearby leisure center has been opened for those who are unable to stay with

family or friends.

The emergency services have well-rehearsed plans for dealing with major incidents

such as this.

Work to establish the full nature of this incident is ongoing,

and we are in constant communication with our partners, both locally and

nationally.

In particular, we are working closely with our partners in

counterterrorism policing.

Gloucestershire Police's focus at this time is on the local community,

and I'd like to thank the residents who have left their homes this morning for

their understanding and support.

We appreciate the disruption that this will have caused to both them

and other

local residents in the area, and would like to reassure them

that we are working as

quickly as we can to get them back into their properties.

We would also please ask the public not to speculate, but to follow official

channels for all updates. Thank you.