ALL eyes were on the skies to see the long-awaited take off of the first airshow to fly into Teesside for more than a quarter of a century.

Deafening airborne entertainment returned to the region for the first time since 1989 with the inaugural Skylive Airshow taking the Spring Bank Holiday to new heights.

Around 18,000 families, enthusiasts and thrill-seekers turned out for the show at Durham Tees Valley Airport which saw seamlessly synchronised displays from the Royal Air Force’s iconic Red Arrows and Typhoon teams.

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Alison Coatsworth: Northern Echo Camera Club

And the patriotic theme continued with the arrival of a pair of World War Two veterans that had served Queen and country during the 1944 D-Day landings.

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Battle of Britain: Northern Echo Camera Club member Jules Ratcliff took this shot

A Hurricane and Spitfire represented the aircraft of the era for their commemorative Battle of Britain Memorial Flight which was summed up by the airshow’s commentator who said: “These aircraft were designed by geniuses, built by craftsmen, and flown by heroes”.

Four ex-Red Arrows pilots crewing The Blades’ high performance aircrafts also impressed the enthralled crowd thousands of feet below them after cramming more than 30 separate manoeuvres into a fifteen minute display.

And the two RAF teams more than lived up to their tagline to “bring the noise” as the Typhoon’s entrance caused a chorus of car alarms to ring out in the wake of the Eurofighter’s arrival.

But the world-famous crowd pleasing Red Arrows stole the show with a flurry of red, white, and blue smoke trailing in corkscrews and spirals above Durham Tees Valley Airport.

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NE Camera Club member Alison Coatsworth captured this dramatic shot

Airshow enthusiasts had waited several hours for the airborne entertainment to take off, with many visitors already queuing to get into the Skylive Events spectacle at 9am on Saturday.

And Darlington’s new Mayor and Mayoress, Brian and Doris Jones, officially opened the airshow at around noon on the venue’s main stage which would go on to host artists throughout the day, including headliners, Toploader.

And plenty of visitors were still dancing in the moonlight before the family fun day was brought to a close at 10.30pm.

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The Blades aerobatic team by NE Camera Club member Mark Middleton

Mayoress Councillor Doris Jones said: “The excitement has been incredible, it really has.

“Middleton St George has been alive with the talk about it and I think it’s good for the region.

“Yes, Sunderland Airshow is very good, but it’s nice to have one at this end – if we can do for the region what Sunderland Airshow does then that’s fantastic.

“I’m really impressed because I didn’t know what to expect. I knew there were going to be Red Arrows, but I didn’t expect all these stalls that really cater for every age group.”

Saturday’s Skylive Airshow had originally been planned to take off last summer, but it was delayed in the wake of the Shoreham Airshow disaster which claimed 11 lives in August 2015.

But the nine-month wait was worth it for thousands of visitors who were treated on terra firma to static plane displays, an extensive vintage car collection, fairground rides and around 20 Army and RAF stalls.

Skylive Events organisers are already hopeful that 2017 will see Durham Tees Valley Airport host its next airshow and that the region will not face another 26-year wait for an unforgettable display of high-flying entertainment.