Cambridgeshire: Sonic Boom

16 June 2013, 12:53 | Updated: 16 June 2013, 21:01

Cambridgeshire Police say a loud bang heard in the south of the county was caused by an aircraft.

It follows reports of a very loud bang in south Cambridgeshire this morning (Sunday).

Cambridgeshire Police said it was caused by one of two RAF jets that had been scrambled.

One of the jets created a 'sonic boom' when going supersonic.

There were reports people felt the ground shaking following the noise earlier.

One listener emailed Heart to say it was heard in Cambourne, Bassingbourn and Toft.

The noise was also reportedly heard in Cambridge and St Ives, as well as neighbouring Essex and Hertfordshire.

A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shockwaves created when an object travels through the air and breaks the sound barrier.

The noise contains large amounts of sound energy, meaning sonic booms are often mistaken for explosions.

The Ministry of Defence said it was caused when the jets were responding to another aircraft which lost communication.

A spokesman said the jets soon established "everything was fine'' with the aircraft.