A family playing cricket near RAF Fairford were ordered away by armed guards – eight hours before five men were arrested over a suspected terror plot on the airbase.

The guards warned the family there was a 'live incident' at around 4.30pm last Saturday, as security at the US-linked airbase was heightened following intelligence suggesting an attack could be possible.

The family had been playing near the perimeter of the airbase when two armed guards suddenly ran towards the fence and told them to leave.

One of the cricketers said: 'We'd played the evening before with no issue, but on Saturday two guards ran to the fence with guns and said: "You can't be here. There is a live incident going on. It's not safe."'

The warning came more than eight hours before police received a 999 call about suspicious activity in nearby Whelford at 12.45am on Sunday.

A woman returning to the village reported seeing masked men and three suspicious vans, prompting a major armed police operation around the Gloucestershire base.

Five men, all British nationals in their twenties and from London, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and the preparation of a terrorist act.

The family's account, revealed by The Sun, raises fresh questions about what was known at RAF Fairford in the hours before the police operation.

Residents in nearby Dunfield also described hearing a public-address announcement inside the base on Saturday evening, followed by the apparent disappearance of staff.

One resident said: 'It's obvious the Americans knew something way before us. But if it affects them, it affects us. We are right next door.

'We're frustrated and scared at the lack of correspondence from the base and UK authorities.'

It is understood families connected to the base left during the emergency and have subsequently only been allowed to return to collect belongings.

The airbase, which has been used by US forces in military operations against Iran, was already considered a potential target amid the escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

In the early hours of Sunday, the female farmer who raised the alarm told police she had seen masked men and three vans close to her home.

Armed officers rushed to the scene and arrested the five suspects.

Counter Terrorism Policing later said the vehicles had undergone extensive examination with military and forensic support. 

No improvised explosive devices were found, although a quantity of petrol was recovered. One of the men involved is also said to have called police himself.

The circumstances surrounding the men's intentions remain under investigation.

US President Donald Trump has previously said American authorities had been watching the suspects for 'a long time', while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested a foreign actor could have been involved. 

All five men were released on police bail but remain under investigation and are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.

The investigation then widened when a sixth suspect was arrested in Westminster on Thursday.

The 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national was held on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts, while two properties in the area were searched.

He was released on police bail yesterday, with Counter Terrorism Policing confirming that the investigation into the events near RAF Fairford remains ongoing.

Around 85 households in Whelford were evacuated during the initial police operation, while a large cordon was put in place as bomb disposal experts examined the three vans.

Police have not established publicly whether the suspects were actually planning an attack on RAF Fairford or what they intended to do with the petrol found in the vehicles.

Lettice.bromovsky@dailymail.co.uk