The world famous Red Arrows returned to the Isle of Man on Tuesday night, performing a display in Douglas Bay.

Travelling from Anglesey and heading over Peel and Crosby, the Royal Air Force aerobatic team performed in Manx skies for the 42nd year, wowing thousands of bikers and local residents.

This year’s display had only seven red Hawk T1 planes rather than the usual nine, with the RAF announcing earlier this year that all the appearances across Europe over the summer months will be reduced to the lower number due to two crew members moving positions in the air force.

The display attracted thousands of spectators to take a break from bikes on the course and look to the skies, with popular viewing spots such as Douglas Head, King Edward Road and Douglas Promenade all busy with island residents and tourists.

The police released a statement just over an hour before the start of the display, warning boat owners heading out into Douglas Bay that they will be asked to return as the Red Arrows will not fly if there were sailing vessels in their flight path.

Starting their journey from Gloucestershire in the afternoon, the jets landed in Angelsey and set off from the Welsh island to the Isle of Man at 7.14pm, arriving in Douglas Bay ready to perform at 7.30pm, taking just 16 minutes.

The performance, held during a day off from racing at the annual TT festival, included all the usual stunts, painting the sky of Douglas red, blue and white.