Why military helicopters were spotted over Rishton

The helicopters have been spotted over Rishton, Oswaldtwistle and beyond in recent days.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning a man, who wishes to remain anonymous, took a video of four helicopters flying over Rishton.

He said they flew over at around 12.40am and remained in the area until 1.10am.

He said the loud noise caused his dogs to bark.

The man said: “They came over where I live, pretty low and made so much of a racket that my dog started barking.

“I only caught the tail end of them as by the time I calmed the dogs down and run out the back [they were flying away].

“I want to know why they were flying so late as they were still hovering around until 1.10.”

Others posted about the helicopters to Facebook, after spotting them on Saturday, September 16. Some said the helicopters “shook their house”.

One person said: “Does anyone know the type of helicopter that just flew over Rishton? “They flew so low that they may as well of landed on my roof.”

Another said: “It flew over Harwood. It was low, loud and shook house.”

PL Photography and Images shared some pictures Apache AH-64 helicopters flying over Oswaldtwistle.

Apache AH-64 helicopter flying over Oswaldtwistle (Image: PL Photography and Images)

They said: “Managed to get a glimpse of these awesome machines. They have been very active around the area lately.”

A spokesperson for the RAF confirmed that all aircraft mentioned are Army Air Corps (AAC) aircraft.

They use army aircraft, such as the Apache attack helicopter, to deliver hard-hitting and effective support to ground forces during the key stages of battle.

A spokesperson said the video of helicopters over Rishton are likely to be taking part in Exercise Cobra Warrior.

Flying times between 18-23 September are from 11am until 12.30am.

A spokesperson said the aircraft may have finished later than expected on Monday.

An Army Spokesperson said: “Two Army Air Corps (AAC) Wildcat helicopters and four AAC Apache helicopters from Wattisham Air Base were completing routine night flying training in the northwest of England as part of Exercise Cobra Warrior on Monday night into Tuesday morning. 

"Training at night is vital for practising operational skills and cannot be replaced by training in daylight hours alone. Realistic and challenging training is essential to preparing our highly-skilled aircrew for the full range of global operations.”