THE Royal Air Force display team the Red Arrows will provide a treat for Wellington residents tonight (Sunday, June 4), weather permitting.

The team will fly over the town on its way back to its base in RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, after taking part in the Torbay Airshow, which is due to end at 6 pm.

The aerobatics team has been based in Exeter Airport for the air show weekend and the pilots’ route home will take them over Wellington from the Cullompton direction at about 7 pm.

The flight path will be roughly over Rockwell Green Primary School, The Basins, and the Longforth Farm housing estate, and then on toward Bridgwater.

Although a full Red Arrows flight comprises nine iconic red colour BAE Systems’ Hawk T.1A fast-jets, this year the team is displaying with only eight aircraft.

The Red Arrows will be celebrating its 60th season next year and has already flown nearly 5,000 displays in 57 countries since its formation in 1965.

Red Arrows pilots usually serve a three-year tour with the display team and must previously have flown with frontline squadrons before they can be recruited.

Pilots currently serving have completed operational tours in Afghanistan and Libya, or been part of the UK and Falkland Islands’ Quick Reaction Alert.

After their Red Arrows tour, they return to operational, training, and other roles in the Royal Air Force.