DID you spot a huge military plane flying low in the sky above Halton this afternoon, Tuesday?

An Airbus A400M was visible flying at low altitude over the town and surrounding areas at around 2.24pm.

The Royal Air Force aircraft, which uses four propeller engines, took off from RAF Brize Norton near Oxford at around 12.15pm, before flying north west over central Wales towards Anglesey, according to FlightRadar24.

At around 2.10pm, it began to fly east over north Wales and Birkenhead in north Wirral heading towards St Helens.

By around 2.22pm, the plane flew over Rainhill, Sutton and Bold at around 2,000ft, reaching Warrington by around 2.24pm.

The plane flew at around 2,000ft above the town, before descending over Runcorn and flying over Liverpool John Lennon Airport at 600ft.

It then followed the route of the Mersey and reached the river’s mouth with the Irish sea by 2.31pm, heading back west and then south east.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the plane flew over the area as part of a training exercise.

They said: “A Royal Air Force Atlas A400M aircraft from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire was completing routine training around the Liverpool area.

“The RAF uses a variety of locations around the UK for training.

“They provide complex airspace and differing challenges for our pilots to ensure we remain ready and able to deploy on global operations.”