My 999 call foiled RAF Fairford plot, farmer tells BBC

She added she was surprised the roads around the base were not being monitored and the village was not evacuated of residents until 06:00.

“I think they were hyper focused and vigilant about the the base itself and had absolutely no regard for our village,” she said.

“The vans were within meters of houses and those people were left unaware.

“I’m just really keen to highlight that it appears someone really dropped the ball on this.”

She also said it was “strange” that police said they had received reports of suspicious vehicles approaching the base nearly an hour before her call.

The five men who were arrested under the Explosives Act and on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act remain in custody.

The police cordon around the area remains in place and local residents are yet to return home.

The defence secretary told BBC Breakfast more than 80 homes were evacuated.

He added he was fairly limited in what he could say about the incident but that an investigation was “well under way”.

He said he understood it was frustrating for the public that he could not share more information – but it was “a small price to pay” to protect the integrity of the police and security services.

Streeting went on to issue an “enormous thank you” to local members of the public for showing “vigilance” and “forbearance”.

Streeting also thanks the police, security services and counter terror police for how they handled the incident.

Gloucestershire Police has been approached for comment.