Marriage falls to its lowest level ever
A MYSTERY plane which spent hours zigzagging across North Wales skies has been back over the region.
The aircraft spent several hours last Monday flying over the Llyn peninsula. It was one of very few planes in the skies over the region because many flights have been grounded due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Last Tuesday, it was back, having taken off at Loughborough in the morning, and was flying at around 5,000 feet.
It flew south to north from around Llyn Llydaw up to the coast around Llanfairfechan, moving eastwards on each loop.
It is understood that the Beech 200T is carrying out an aerial survey, but the reason for the survey is not clear.
The plane is owned by a company called Diamond Executive Aviation.
On their website, they said: “DEA delivers custom airborne solutions using our specialised hardware, equipment and personnel, meeting our customers’ diverse needs.”
Their services included offering flights for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, aerial survey and specialist commercial air transport.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
MARRIAGE rates for heterosexual couples are at their lowest level on record and the popularity of religious wedding ceremonies also fell to historic lows, according to new official data.
Fewer than one in four (23%) opposite-sex couples in England and Wales chose a place of worship for their big day in 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
There were 242,842 marriages registered in total in 2017 – a decrease of 2.8% from 2016 – driven largely by a decline of 9.5% in religious ceremonies from the previous year, it added.
It is the first time data for the year has been published and it continues a long-term trend in declining numbers of marriages between opposite-sex couples, with a 45% decrease since 1972.