People relieved to learn that 'loud bang' they heard on Sunday morning was just a 'sonic boom'

It's not every day that you get to hear a sonic boom but that's exactly what happened in the early hours of Sunday morning in southern England.

Reports suggest that at around 4:20 am, a noise generated by two Royal Air Force Typhoons created a sound that was likened to an 'explosion', apparently shaking houses and causing alarms and sirens to go off.

The jets had taken off from Coningsby, Lincolnshire to try and intercept an unresponsive aircraft and although it is not clear where the sonic book took place, it was heard as far away as London, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

On Twitter, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it was a 'sonic boom' and there was 'no cause for concern'.

A sonic boom occurs when an object travels faster than the speed of sound but at the time, those who heard the sound had no idea what had happened and were quite alarmed but also amused.

Even this poor cat got a bit scared.

There are also a few videos on social media of the sonic boom and although it's not as dramatic as it sounds it is still rather fascinating.

An RAF spokesperson has since told the BBC:

Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby were scrambled this morning, as part of the UK's Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) procedures, after an aircraft lost communications in UK airspace.

The aircraft was intercepted and its communications were subsequently re-established.

HT BBC

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