Here is why a RAF plane was spotted over Cockfield

Those who were looking over County Durham this morning (April 16) might have spotted the Airbus A400M Atlas flying near their homes.

The plane was spotted flying low over Cockfield shortly after 9am this morning. According to Flight Radar, it also flew over Stanhope, Staindrop and close to Northallerton.

The plane was taking part in a routine training exercise (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

For those worrying about why the RAF plane was over the area, there is a simple explanation - it was on a military training exercise.

A RAF spokesperson said: "RAF aircraft complete routine training sorties across the whole of the UK on a daily basis.

"RAF crews use a variety of training areas for training and vary their routes and training locations to maximise training benefit.

The plane flew over a number of County Durham towns (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

"Such training enabling our crews to train in varied environments in preparation for operations across the globe."

Starting its flight from Brize Norton at 8.01am, the plane looped towards Cheltenham, Warrington and Bolton before going towards Hexham and across County Durham.

At the time of writing, the plane has yet to complete its journey and arrive back at Brize Norton.