A sonic boom has rocked houses across the south east of England after RAF jets were launched to intercept a civilian plane.
Residents in parts of Essex, Kent, Suffolk, London and Cambridgeshire reported hearing a 'loud bang' just before midday on Friday.
The RAF confirmed it had launched a Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter jet from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to escort a private jet which had lost contact with air traffic control to Stansted.
The RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft was spotted on flight radars at the time the explosion was heard, and escorted the aircraft from Nice in the South of France to the London airport after it lost contact with the ground.
Essex Police received calls from concerned homeowners around 11.40am, with some reporting their walls and windows shaking.
