LOW-flying planes circling the skies above Accrington caused alarm among residents after the aircraft appeared to be too close to buildings.

Manchester Airport was inundated with phone calls yesterday morning when residents looked out of their windows to see the planes hovering lower in the sky than usual.

Some reports even claimed that one plane swooped out of the sky to avoid a cluster of flying objects.

However, staff at Air Traffic Control said the visual effect was down to poor weather in Manchester, leading to a large number of planes having to stack' above Accrington while waiting to land.

A spokesperson for Air Traffic Control said: "While the weather has been particularly nice in East Lancashire today it has been very foggy in Manchester.

"Because of this there has been a restriction on the number of aircraft landing at the airport.

"The aircraft are being held in the air longer so people have noticed more planes going in circular motions.

"However, they have not been flying lower than they normally do."