A "MYSTERIOUS" jet has been circling the York area, but don't worry - we're led to believe it was a friend rather than a foe.

Press readers were contacting us yesterday saying the aircraft - believed to be an AWACS plane from an RAF base in Lincolnshire - had been flying over their homes for several hours.

The Press understands that the jet - which was reportedly flying at about 56,000 feet - was taking part in a training exercise, the like of which is carried out in Iraq.

It is thought that the exercise was one in co-ordinating fighter pilots, which was being carried out over York because of the "big airwaves" over the city.

An RAF source said: "They are doing what they do in Iraq - they fly in a great big circle over the area, which is about a ten to 20 mile radius, and they can co-ordinate the fighters."

The source said that the AWACS was based on a Boeing passenger jet, the main difference being that it was fitted with large radar.

Jane Smith, of Stillingfleet, south of York, who said the plane had been circling over her house for about three hours, said it was a sight compared to the "little planes" that usually flew overhead from Church Fenton.