Photos: RAF and mountain rescue’s Pendle exercise

The afternoon at Noggarth, between Fence and Newchurch, saw a yellow Sea King search and rescue helicopter from RAF Leconfield fly into Pendle having completed a refuelling stop at Leeds Bradford Airport en route.

The aim of the training was to introduce the operational trainees to working with helicopters, to ensure team members’ helicopter skills were current and give the RAF crew a chance to familiarise themselves with the terrain in which they may work with the team.

It was a historic flight as the yellow Sea King RAF helicopters are being retired and the civilian search and rescue duties are being taken over by a private contractor for the Government. This was possibly the last time they will be seen over Pendle.

The sight of a big yellow helicopter, not surprisingly, got the interest of many people who were passing and the RAF crew were more than happy to show everyone around.