Air raid siren rings over RAF Lakenheath as US military responds to incident after personnel forced to take shelter

Air raid sirens could be heard ringing out over RAF Lakenheath as the US military responds to an incident after their personnel were forced to take shelter.

Nearby residents were left horrified while they could hear the spine-tingling siren, just days after the US withdrew its planes from a second British base.

The US Air Force confirmed its team was responding to "suspected unauthorised drone activity" over the Suffolk site.

This evening, a spokesman said: "This evening, USAF Security Forces personnel responded to suspected unauthorised drone activity over RAF Lakenheath.

"No personnel, aircraft or infrastructure were affected.

"We continue to work closely with our host nation counterparts to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, US and host nation civilians, contractors, and all of our families.

"Protecting our shared community is a joint responsibility, and we encourage everyone to support this effort by reporting any unusual or suspicious activity to local authorities."

After the alarm was raised, local MP and Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy addressed panicked speculation about the siren sounding.

Mr Timothy said he had been assured there was no threat to the public, and the incident had been "resolved".

He advised: "Given the raised threat level, I continue to encourage everyone to report anything suspicious or out of the ordinary to the authorities.

"And I also encourage the Ministry of Defence and US Air Force to communicate freely as operational security constraints allow them."

On Monday, the US military evacuated more than a dozen warplanes from their second Suffolk airbase, RAF Mildenhall.

The aircraft were removed amid fuelling concerns of an Iran-linked security threat.

MORE TO FOLLOW...