44-year-old man detained under Mental Health Act after trying to drive through checkpoint at RAF Mildenhall

Police confirmed this afternoon that a 44-year-old British man arrested in connection with an incident at RAF Mildenhall has been detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

The male was arrested yesterday on suspicion of criminal trespass and criminal damage.

Police and US personnel dealt with the incident at the base and arrested the man after he tried to drive through a checkpoint at the base.

Shots were fired by US staff who are stationed at the base before the man was detained at RAF Mildenhall. He suffered cuts and bruises and is was taken into custody of Suffolk Police.

The base was temporarily put into lockdown as police responded to reports of what they called a “significant incident” which began at 1.40pm. And Suffolk police said it was not terror related.

Officers advised people to avoid and said there was no wider threat to the public or people on the base and they are not looking for anyone else.

RAF Mildenhall is protected by Ministry of Defence police and US armed guards.

The base is used as a transport hub by the US and is home to a fleet of refuelling aircraft and special operations forces.

It has about 3,200 military personnel, with 400-500 UK civilian staff employed there. The base is one of 56 MoD sites earmarked for closure.

But the US Air Force said in September it was delaying plans to relocate its operations to a base in Germany until 2024.

A Pentagon spokesman in Washington said: “The security incident has been contained and a suspect has been apprehended and the lockdown ended at around 3.30pm.

A statement on the base’s Facebook page said: “Lockdown has terminated on base and operations are returning to normal. We’ve concluded our combined US-UK response to this incident and we are continuing to support local authorities in the ongoing investigation.”