Sonic Boom after RAF Herd Hurd to Inscent

A sonic boom has been reported in the east and parts of the east and southeast of England.

Loud bang was heard in Essex, Cambrisshire, Safok, Kent and parts of London around 11:40 BST.

RAF confirmed a quick response alert (QRA) typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF coningsby, launching a civilian aircraft to escape contact with air traffic control.

A spokesman said: “Communications were re -established and the aircraft was safely taken to Stanstad. Returning to the typhoon base.”

A spokesman for the Essex Police said: “After losing contact with the land, a flight has been taken to the Stanstad Airport.

“The contact was re -installed with the aircraft, traveling from Nice, and was taken to the airport by RAF aircraft.

“On the ground, our officials determined that there was nothing to worry about.”

A sonic boom occurs when an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound, causing shockwaves that rapidly compress and disintegrate the air, leading to explosive noise.

While the speed of sound varies depending on the height, it is about 660mph (1,060 km/h) at 60,000 feet (18,300 m).

The sound, often described as an explosion or thunderclap, can be heard in a large area because it moves along the aircraft, in view of the boat spread behind a pot.

Boom has been widely informed in social media.

A person at Chelmsford in Essex said: “It shook the upper part of the house.”

A woman at the acquitted St. Edmunds in Safok said that it was “scorched” to her back door, while a person in North Kent commented that it “shook the entire house – we thought that there was an explosion”.

In Barvell, Cambrisshire, another woman wrote: “Thought something has been blown into my scaffold”.