WINDOWS have been rattling in Wiltshire towns and villages as a major exercise including soldiers from units across the South West takes part on Salisbury Plain.

Exercise Flying Falcon has been taking placon on Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) with regular and reservist troops under the command of 11th Signal and West Midlands Brigade joining forces to test their core military and professional skills in a complex and demanding battlefield environment. 

Against the background of an extremely fast-moving tactical scenario set in the fictitious country of Atropia, the exercise will subject soldiers to simulated attacks, potential chemical, biological or radioactive threats and an enemy threat forcing them to constantly move an entire armoured headquarters undetected on a regular basis.

Ham Sibbard got in touch to say: "I live near Trowbridge and it sounds like a war zone - all day and this evening."

And Felicity Law said: "The last few days I've heard a rather strange rumbling  in the distance, I live in Melksham and heard it one night going to sleep.

"Didn't think much of it until I heard it again on my way to work, i was walking to the office in Chippenham and heard it again. My mum said she had heard it several times and thought it strange too."

In Devizes, windows were rattled during the day with the final blasts coming just before 10pm. 

An MoD spokesman said; "One thousand troops, drawn from across the brigade, will have to ensure their core role of building and maintaining a complex and mobile communications network covering an area the size of a large city, remains intact amidst such threats.

"The soldiers will be drawn from all the brigade’s units based across the UK and Germany including 1 Signal Regiment (Stafford) 2 Signal Regiment (York) 3 Signal Regiment (Bulford) 21 Signal Regiment (Colerne) 10 Signal Regiment (Corsham) 15 Signal Regiment (Blandford) 16 Signal Regiment (Stafford) 32 Signal Regiment (Glasgow) 37 Signal Regiment (Redditch) 38 Signal Regiment (Bristol) and 71 Signal Regiment (Bexley Heath)."