Many residents in Barrow were stunned this week to see RAF and Royal Navy helicopters not only circling overhead - but also landing.

Many who saw them on Monday stopped to film and take photographs of a "sortie" of aircraft flying over Roa Island and Piel Island.

A sortie is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint.

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Local photographer Antonio Abela Wadsworth reported seeing one Chinook and three Westland Lynx choppers.

Further photographs provided also include a Royal Navy Merlin Helicopter.

An RAF spokesperson confirmed the reason behind the presence of the aircraft.

He said: "A RAF Chinook, from 7 Squadron, RAF Odiham, Hants was deployed to RAF Woodvale.

"It was on an exercise alongside other military helicopters, conducting routine operational training sortie across North West England yesterday.

"RAF helicopter crews use a variety of training areas around the whole of the UK, varying their routes and locations to maximise training benefit, so enabling our crews to be ready for operations across the globe."

The RAF Chinook flying over residents' houses (Image: Antonio Abela Wadsworth) RAF Chinooks are extremely capable and highly versatile support helicopters that can be operated from land bases or ships into a diverse range of environments, from the Arctic to the desert or jungle.  

They can be armed and each are fitted with a suite of self-defence equipment allowing it them operate across the battlespace.

Chinooks are primarily used for trooping, resupply and battlefield casualty evacuation.

The Royal Navy uses Merlin helicopters for a variety of purposes, including anti-submarine warfare, airborne surveillance and control, search and rescue and troop transport.

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The Westland Lynx is a multi-purpose helicopter also used by the Royal Navy for a variety of maritime roles, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and can project a ship's influence over long distances.