Suspect in naval base break-in ‘is from Greater Manchester’

A BRITISH man accused of breaking into a Swedish naval base will appear in court later this month.

The 33-year-old was arrested alongside a Belgian national on an island 25 miles south of Stockholm. Swedish authorities have not named the pair, but the M.E.N. understands the Briton is from the Greater Manchester area.

The Foreign Office have confirmed they are assisting the man and his family. Both defendants are being held on charges of ‘unauthorised access to protected infrastructure.’

It’s alleged that the pair were caught snooping around Musko Naval Base, one of the world’s largest underground naval bunkers, at around 1am on December 2.

According to local reports, the armed security guard fired a ‘warning’ shot towards the men when they failed to comply with instructions.

The men are alleged to have ignored numerous warning signs and barriers in order to access the bunker ‘on more than one occasion’ between November 30 and December 2.

According to Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter newspaper, the men were simply fans of naval bases and thought it was abandoned. The M.E.N. understands the Briton is an ‘urban exploration’ enthusiast from Greater Manchester.

Lars Hurtig, a lawyer for one of the men, told The Local news website: “Personally, I think this is a heavyhanded overreaction and something has been set in motion that is rather ridiculous.”

The pair will remain in custody until their next court appearance in Sweden tomorrow.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office told the M.E.N.: “We are assisting a British man and his family following his arrest in Sweden, and are in contact with the Swedish authorities.”

Musko Naval Base was built in the 1950s and involved removing around 1.5million tonnes of rock.

The dramatic design – reminiscent of a James Bond set – was intended to protect it from nuclear attack and activities within the base were kept highly secret during the Cold War.

Inside, there are said to be three docks for naval ships and submarines and 12 miles of underground roads.

Much of the naval base was closed by the Swedish government in 2004 as it moved operations elsewhere, but a military presence remains and the grounds are strictly off-limits to non-Swedes.