RAF’S low flying night flights cause chaos for villagers

Villagers living near an RAF base have complained that low-flying training exercises are shaking fruit from trees and preventing hens from laying eggs.

They said Apache and Chinook helicopters taken on night-time training flights over Hungerford, Berks, were also waking babies and causing horses to stampede.

David Broderick, 69, said: “It’s just so loud – they shouldn’t be doing it over a built-up area. It can happen around midnight any night of the week. They fly so low, the wind from the rotors has knocked all the fruit from my trees. It’s beyond a joke.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The MOD strives to ensure that such disturbance is kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, there are no uninhabited areas of the UK large enough to cater for all essential training needs.”