THIS 17-year-old from Cwmbran got the chance to take part in a dramatic flypast over Buckingham Palace during the Queen’s birthday celebrations.

Air cadet Ellie Silcox, of Pontnewydd, Cwmbran, was picked out to fly in an RAF Hercules transport plane as it flew past the palace on Saturday.

She was one of 70 air cadets selected to join the event, where the craft joined 25 others in formation. She was the only Cwmbran air cadet to take part.

In the plane Miss Silcox, who is a Croesyceiliog School student as well as a Cadet Flight Sergeant in 2308 Squadron Air Training Corps based in Cwmbran, said she was allowed to go into the cockpit to see the other planes lined up ahead.

The planes included a Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster as well as Typhoon fighters and the Red Arrows aerobatic support team. A Chinook and two Puma helicopters led the formation.

”I was really excited about it,” she said. “It was just that I had been selected out of so many people. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”