An air safety report recently released has confirmed that an Easyjet plane flying near Manchester was narrowly missed by a drone flying at almost 8,000ft.

The report details that the drone could be seen by the flight crew from the cockpit and was reported immediately to ATC. The incident has been rated as the 'Highest of Risk' by the UK Airprox Board who monitor Drone safety in the UK. They concluded that there was a "definite risk of collision" and that "It narrowly missed the nose/windscreen of the aircraft".

The drone was described as being approximately half a metre in size, probably about 10kg, and blue in colour.

CAA Drone regulations do not permit any drone to ascend to over 400ft without prior permission.