Around 70,000 people headed to Herne Bay today to watch in awe as the Red Arrows, the Vulcan bomber, RAF jets and many more took to the skies.

The beaches, promenade, pier and town centre were filled with eager-eyed families and plane enthusiasts awaiting Herne Bay's biggest event this year.

The world's only flying Vulcan bomber, the RAF Typhoon Eurofighter and the Battle of Britain memorial flights were just some of the spectacles to fly around the crowds.

First through the skies was the impressive Red Arrows, making incredible shapes and patterns with their stream of colour.

They made a surprise entrance from behind the clock tower.

A technical issue with their PA system meant they couldn't speak to their vast audience as planned, but it definitely didn't ruin the performance.

They tweeted later on in the day to their 45,000 followers:

The Squires family from Birchington managed to find the perfect spot to watch the Red Arrows, even bringing a picnic blanket to enjoy the show.

Two-year-old Evie said the planes were "very loud".

Her mum Rachel said: "The kids absolutely loved it, and so did my husband.

"The Red Arrows were so impressive. We couldn't believe it. When they come so close to each other and the patterns they made in the sky, it was fantastic.

"It's really great to see Herne Bay this busy. It's brilliant for the town to have events like this to bring so many people in. We hope they do it again next year."

It wasn't just people in Herne Bay who were lucky enough to see the planes.

Many reported seeing them fly overhead in Thanet, Faversham, Whitstable and Canterbury.

These guys were on a barge in the middle of the sea when they spotted the Vulcan bomber:

Jim Farry had travelled down from Maidstone for the display and has seen the Red Arrows fly on many occasions.

"This is just absolutely brilliant. So many families were looking forward to it and it has definitely been worth the visit.

"With Thursday's downpour, it was quite worrying that the weather wasn't going to be very good but skies have been clear all day. It's perfect weather conditions for it really.

"There was one aircraft that had to pull out because of technical difficulties which is definitely a shame but I'm sure the others will make up for it."

Coach at Greenhill Gymnastics Club Les Willis, 75, has lived in Herne Bay since 1979 and said today he had never seen the town so busy.

He said: "With the carnival last week and this on today, there's so much going on in the town. It's great.

"We need events like this in Herne Bay to bring more people in and today has been fantastic.

"The Red Arrows were brilliant."

The show was all in memory of Amy Johnson.

On January 5 1941, the British record breaking aviatrix died serving her country off the shores of Herne Bay.

She is remembered as one of Britain's greatest female pilots.

Details of an ongoing Herne Bay-led project in Amy's memory, which hopes to find the wreckage of her plane and answer questions surrounding her death, can be found by clicking HERE.

The event was mainly organised by the Herne Bay Promo Team.

Gerald McCarthy, who also helped to organise the Zombie Crawl and Sci-Fi Festival, said earlier this week: “For us it’s the big one, without a doubt it’s going to be the biggest event the town has ever seen, it will be an absolute whopper of a day."

Jack and Jamie Cloude, who were visiting from Sittingbourne with their parents, grandparents and uncle, said they were having "the best time".

There are now long delays leaving Herne Bay as thousands try to catch a train home.

There are reports of delays both on Southeastern trains and on the roads heading out of the town.

What did you think of today's show? Leave your comments below or email us hernebaygazette@thekmgroup.co.uk