Thousands attend Southport Air Show to see Vulcan bomber

Thousands cheered and waved at the "once in a lifetime" sight of the Vulcan bomber

Thousands of people have attended the Southport Air Show with the highlight being the appearance of the last Vulcan bomber.

Jets from the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows, performed a flypast with the bomber which saw service between 1956 and 1984.

They made a V-shape formation in front of the Vulcan which flew over the water and along the coast on Saturday.

The delta-winged aircraft, the Vulcan, XH558, is flying in its final season.

'Great honour'

The flypast followed a similar event at the Royal International Air Tattoo earlier this year, when the Red Arrows and Vulcan delighted crowds at RAF Fairford.

Red Arrows Squadron Leader David Montenegro, said: "The Vulcan played both a significant role in the Cold War and in the history of British aviation and so it's only right we pay tribute to the aircraft, and all those people connected with it, during the bomber's final flying season.

"It was a great honour to lead a formation flypast with the Vulcan, particularly as the aircraft type was once based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire - now home to the Red Arrows."

James Will photographed the Vulcan flying past Anthony Gormley's "Another Place" sculptures on Crosby beach

The Red Arrows formed a V formation around the Vulcan