Galloway motorists unimpressed by NATO troops' training exercise

About 400 troops were taking part in a exercise involving an amphibious landing at Luce Bay, Wigtownshire, when a small number, thought to be Ukrainian marines and French soldiers, stopped the drivers who were unaware there was a NATO exercise going on in the area. The first car to be stopped was carrying children.

NATO admitted troops in training are not supposed to approach civilians. A spokeswoman said it was an isolated incident and that at no point was anyone in danger.

"It was a mixture of NATO troops operating jointly in the area," the spokeswoman said. "A family in a car were flagged down and talked to. No-one had a gun brandished at them and they were not in danger."

John Pulman, a retired army major, who was overseeing the exercise, said: "We had a situation where we had some troops that were unfamiliar with their surroundings and possibly became over-zealous in their application of what they were required to do."

Alex Fergusson, the MSP for Galloway & Upper Nithsdale, said the incident was "unacceptable" and called for a full investigation. He said: "This must have been a terrifying ordeal for some people who were simply enjoying a drive in the countryside, especially for the young children involved.

"It’s unacceptable that this sort of thing should happen."

Sandra Longman, 59, a shop assistant in Port William, said: "I heard that there were cars held up because of the exercises and that there were low flying helicopters and lots of military about. One lady told me she was driving by and the military police stopped her car and kept her there for a while. They then told to go on but to drive slowly."

The NATO spokeswoman said it was looking into the situation and how it could be avoided in the future.

She added: "Maybe we could look at signing so people are aware there is an exercise in the area so are not shocked if they happen to see any of the troops involved in the exercise."

The force training off the west coast comprises 50 ships and submarines, 15 fighter aircraft, numerous military helicopters and approximately 800 amphibious and land troops from 12 NATO nations.

Exercise Northern Light aims to test the operational capability of participating forces in responding to a crisis situation.

It is also being used to demonstrate some of the maritime and amphibious capabilities that could be deployed as part of the new NATO Response Force (NRF).

The exercise is continuing and will finish on Friday.

Lieutenant Commander David Waterman, a NATO spokesman, later said no complaints had been received from any members of the public.

He said a thorough investigation had found that no members of the public had been treated inappropriately.

"There was no-one taken out of their cars or searched by any troops and there was no altercation or incident involving military personnel," he said.

"Cars were stopped by uniformed troops who were advising the public that there was an exercise in progress in the area.

"The troops were carrying out the stops in the interests of safety."