Residents living near RAF Fairford say they were told to stay indoors hours before police received a call about an alleged foiled bomb plot – with one claiming they were told an attack was about to happen.

has seen messages from a WhatsApp residents’ group chat showing that, shortly before 6pm on Saturday, one resident claimed to be told by armed officers there was intelligence over an “imminent” attack. Another said they were told to make their way home and stay indoors.

Five British nationals in their twenties were arrested on Sunday, initially on suspicion of explosives offences and later terrorism, after an incident near the military airbase in Gloucestershire, which is used by US bombers. Counter-terrorism officers are understood to be investigating whether Iran is linked to the suspected terror plot.

In the messages seen by this publication, a neighbour informed other residents they had been stopped by armed police and told to make their way home and stay indoors. The neighbour was not informed why, but the police were reportedly asking people to stay away from the base.

After further replies, another neighbour added they were told to go home because police had received intelligence about a potential imminent attack. They were also told no further information.

“On Saturday afternoon, some of our neighbours were walking their dogs up the lane,” Charlie Clements, a local resident, told .

“They were approached by armed police, and they were basically told to go home.

“All they were told was that they were asking people to stay away from the base, but they wouldn't say anything.”

Ms Clements, whose village of Kempsford is right at the end of the RAF Fairford runway, also told that music started playing from the RAF base just before the threat was reported at 1.30am.

“I think it was about 12.10am – my dog started going absolutely ballistic like there was somebody outside. I went downstairs, I let him into the garden. But when I opened the back door, I could hear music coming from the airbase.

“Every now and again, they'll play the American National Anthem. They have sirens that go off at certain times that they test.

“I was like, ‘This is really odd.’ So I went upstairs after I put the dog back, opened the window upstairs, and it was still playing, which was really strange, and it felt really... I don't know. It was misty outside. It was really eerie – like something out of a horror film.”

“But what was really strange, at 12 minutes past 12, they started playing ‘Piano Man’ by Billy Joel.”

A local woman reported suspicious activity in the early hours of Sunday, 27 September, after spotting a “large group of hooded and masked men” emerging from three large vans.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s programme, the woman said she noticed something “highly unusual was taking place” and attempted to contact the Ministry of Defence police but received no response.

She contacted 999 at 1.36am as she was aware that RAF Fairford had been operating at a high security level at the time.

Wes Streeting has said the farmer who phoned police about suspicious activity near RAF Fairford has only “a partial picture” of the situation.

Counter-Terrorism Policing (CTP) said on Monday that multiple new lines of inquiry have emerged after investigators were working at the scene overnight.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: “To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”

The five suspects being held under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act were identified on Monday as British nations, and released on bail. They are a 24-year-old from Camden, north London; three men aged 23, 24 and 25 from Westminster, and one aged 24 from Willesden, north-west London.

Prime minister Andy Burnham held a Cobra meeting on Monday evening “to make sure we have the full picture”, he told LBC. Afterwards, Mr Streeting said: “What we can say at this stage is that the response of our policing, counter-terrorism policing and security services has been exemplary. The investigation remains ongoing.”