THE last flying example of the Avro Vulcan, which served in Britain's distinctive delta-wing Cold War V-bomber fleet of 134, paid a double visit to the Forest on Saturday.

The impressive plane first gave Severnside viewers a thrill as it passed south over Gloucester towards Bristol in the early afternoon on part of its Diamond Jubilee tour.

XH558 The Spirit of Britain then went on to Cardiff before coming back to fly over Ross at around 4.45pm, looping back down the Wye and over the Forest on its way to Gloucester for a second time before returning to its base in Lincolnshire.

With its ear-splitting Olympus engines, the giant plane could hardly be missed and was snapped by many fans. Our picture was taken from Wigpool when it flew low to the west in the late afternoon pass.

Now owned by the RAF Vulcan to the Sky Trust, it served from 1960-1992, and was used in air refuelling duties and as a display aircraft before being retired.