Planes cause town's 'UFO' scare

The planes could not land due to foggy conditions

Residents of a Lancashire town who were concerned about objects seen in the sky are being reassured they are simply low flying planes.

People in Accrington reported seeing a plane apparently swooping to avoid a cluster of objects.

But the "objects" turned out to be planes waiting above the town as fog delayed landing at Manchester Airport.

Some of the sightings may have also been balloons released in a fundraising event for the North West Air Ambulance.

'Standard practice'

A spokeswoman for Manchester Airport said: "We have had fog all morning which is clearing now, which has caused incoming and outbound flights to be delayed.

"We have spaced the take-off and landing of planes more than we do normally," she added.

"We hold the planes - it is quite standard - and bring them in when there is an appropriate slot. It is standard practice."

The foggy conditions cleared later on Friday morning and the air traffic returned to normal.