Thieves cut fence to break into military garrison

The Army confirmed intruders broke into Larkhill Camp on Saturday

The Army and police are investigating after thieves cut through a wire fence to break into a military camp.

Fuel was siphoned from a tanker belonging to a civilian contractor at Larkhill Garrison in Wiltshire on Saturday afternoon, the Army said.

In a statement, it said "no other damage or theft was discovered" and added the Royal Military Police and Wiltshire Police had been informed of the break-in.

The government said the incident had not impacted the operational output of the base. It added it took security at military sites "extremely seriously" and took a multi-layered approach to protecting sites, including fencing, patrols and CCTV monitoring.

Larkhill Garrison is located on Salisbury Plain and is the home of the Royal Artillery.

The security breach follows an incident at Oxfordshire's RAF Brize Norton in June, when a group of protesters broke in and and spray-painted two RAF Voyager planes.

There is no evidence the incident at Larkhill is being linked to protester activity, the BBC understands.

James MacCleary MP, Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said it was "essential for British bases to remain totally secure" and called for the government to commission a review of security across all UK military bases and assets.

Danny Kruger, MP for East Wiltshire, said he was concerned about security at military bases in Wiltshire.

"I have written to the Defence Secretary to request an update on measures to prevent future breaches like this one - or worse," he wrote on social media platform X.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: "Wiltshire Police is investigating damage to a fence and the theft of fuel from a civilian tanker which was parked in Larkhill Barracks.

"The theft was reported to us on Saturday, 4 October. We are working closely with Ministry of Defence Police and our enquiries are ongoing."