Soldiers on ‘high alert’ and barracks on lockdown after security scares
Secret memo orders troops to be vigilant amid concern over ISIS-style attack
MAJOR Army bases were yesterday in lockdown and soldiers put on “high alert” after a feared terror attack on an unarmed airman.
A secret memo to troops at Wiltshire mega-bases Bulford, Tidworth and Larkhill, where 14,000 soldiers are based, told them to be vigilant when they travel to and from work.
And insiders said any physical training less than a mile from base perimeters had to be escorted by an armed guard.
It came after a police chopper and armed cops raced to Bulford Camp, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, following reports three men were spotted with an AK-47 on Thursday night.
That was just hours after an RAF Regiment soldier was the victim of an attempted abduction while running outside RAF Marham, in Norfolk.
People are spooked. We’ve got lads telling their wives to keep an eye on the children. The lads think something serious is going on
Last night sources said the married airman in his late 20s – who serves with the infantry wing of the RAF – punched the Middle Eastern assailant so hard he was left with enough blood on his knuckles for a DNA swab.
So far the local police have failed to find the pair who tried to bundle the unnamed airman into the back of a people carrier while holding a military style knife.
They yesterday renewed pleas for more information to hunt down the attackers.
Locals say RAF Marham now looks like a ghost town with normally super-fit airmen refusing to run outside the base for fear of another attack.
Meanwhile police investigating the alleged gun sighting near Bulford Camp said they had tracked down the men and confirmed they had an air rifle, but no malicious intent.
But the two scares have sent jitters throughout military camps with creeping fears a serviceman will be targeted by an Islamic State-inspired terror attack like the Lee Rigby tragedy.
One source inside one of the Wiltshire camps told The Sun: “All military staff are high alert and many have been told to stay indoors.
“We have been told to be vigilant going to and from work and there was an order for guards to wear helmets as well as body armour while on guard duty, but that order was later rescinded.
“Royal Military Police patrols have been stepped up and now if we do physical activities close to the base we need an armed escort.
“People are spooked. We’ve got lads telling their wives to keep an eye on the children. The lads think something serious is going on.”
Norfolk Constabulary said the two Middle Eastern men who tried to grab the unnamed airman were still on the run.
Det Supt Paul Durham said: “I would stress this continues to be investigated as an attempted abduction; terrorism as a potential motive cannot be discounted but equally we continue to follow other plausible lines of enquiry.
“House to house, forensic and CCTV enquiries continue today and local officers are patrolling around RAF Marham to provide reassurance.”
Meanwhile police hunting the men seen with a rifle near Bulford said they had traced the men and ruled out foul play.
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We can confirm that they were not involved in any suspicious activity.”
Vince Logue, South Sector Acting Inspector for Wiltshire Police, said: “With recent events, both in the UK and abroad, it is understandable that we are seeing an increase in calls from members of the public reporting suspicious behaviour.
“It is only right that we fully investigate calls of this nature. Thankfully, this incident turned out to be non-suspicious.
“We would continue to urge residents to report any suspicious behaviour to police on 101, or 999 if it is an emergency.”
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Last night the Army refused to comment on base security – while insider admitted it had been stepped up.
But they did insist there was no ban on wearing uniforms in public.
An MoD spokesperson: “There remains no ban on the wearing of uniform in public but Service personnel are encouraged to exercise their discretion.
“The MOD has a range of measures to address the threat to personnel and these are kept under constant review.
“The security and safety of our personnel is our foremost concern, and we will employ the appropriate and necessary measures to mitigate the threats they face without unreasonably impacting on their lives.”