Five men have been arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and explosive offences after three “suspicious vehicles” were reported travelling towards an RAF base, police have said.

A major incident was declared and dozens of homes near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire were evacuated following the report at about 00:45 BST on Sunday.

Counter-terror police are leading the investigation. An Army explosive ordnance disposal team has been examining vehicles near the base, which is used by the United States Air Force (USAF).

Eighty-five households in the nearby village of Whelford have been evacuated while investigations continue. Officials believe the incident is contained.

A 400m (1,312ft) cordon has been placed around the area, where a bomb disposal team and hazardous area response team were deployed as part of a major emergency service response.

Aerial pictures showed a remote-controlled robot approaching stationary white vans in a wooded area, though its use has not been confirmed by police.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham was receiving updates on the situation, which he said would be “deeply concerning for local residents”. In a statement, he urged the public not to speculate as the investigation continued.

Counter Terrorism Policing and Gloucestershire Police said the probe was in its early stages, with the five men still in custody as of Sunday evening.

They were initially detained on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act before being further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, police said.

US President Donald Trump said the men had been “looking to do big damage”, adding: “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”

The base shares a long history with the American military, and has recently been used by US warplanes as a staging post for defensive strikes on Iran.

An image purporting to show the moment five men were arrested was sent to the BBC.

It showed detained men in Whelford, about 350m (1148ft) from runway access at Crash Gate 6A at RAF Fairford.

The BBC has been unable to verify the original source, but BBC Verify has geolocated the image and confirmed it appeared to be authentic.

Several residents told the BBC they had been led from their homes in the early hours of Sunday and evacuated to a leisure centre.

Julian Tudsbury said he was woken up at 07:00 by police banging on his door in Whelford.

“There were several police, three police cars in the drive, and they said you need to evacuate, there’s been a major incident, said he couldn’t elaborate,” he said.

He said another local had seen three vehicles making their way to the base and called the police “straight away”.

Another resident, who gave his name only as Jeff, said he heard shouting outside at 02:00.

“[I] looked out the window and saw men were being held by police outside the house. They were armed, it was surreal.

A USAF spokesperson said its personnel remained vigilant but did not discuss specific force protection methods.

The US Department of Defense later raised the threat level at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, which hosts the US Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing.

The base was placed on Charlie alert, the second-highest threat level the US DoD can issue, RAF Lakenhealth confirmed.

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