THE iconic Vulcan Bomber has once again been spotted soaring in the skies over Dorset.

Taking the controls as she swept over Corfe Castle was former Royal Air Force Captain Cyril Carr - who flew operational Vulcans during the height of The Cold War from RAF Scampton.

However, one notable difference this time was that Mr Carr flew the aircraft from the relative safety of the ground.

That’s because the amazingly realistic aircraft is, in fact, a scale model of the last Vulcan bomber to ever fly - XH558.

Mr Carr, who now lives at Corfe Castle, also built the model aircraft - which was photographed flying over Corfe as part of the Kingston Fair earlier this month.

The 74-year-old, a member of the Phoenix Model Aircraft Club, actually commanded the full-sized XH558 during the 1970s, which was later restored to flight by enthusiasts and became a crowd favourite at the Bournemouth Air Festival before its second retirement in 2015.

Mr Carr told the Daily Echo: “People really enjoyed it at the Kingston Fair, no-one expected a Vulcan to be in the air again. It is so big and realistic, it could easily mistaken for the real thing.

“I’ve been interested in aviation from the year dot. I’ve built aircraft all my life. Having flown the real thing, it is nice to get it into the air again.

“It gives a very realistic noise as well, not the howl of a Vulcan, but certainly the noise of a jet.”

The model has a 10ft wingspan, weighs 20lbs and is powered by a 3,000 watt electric fan.

Mr Carr, a former aeronautical engineering graduate from Bristol University, who went onto serve 16 years in the RAF, said the model flies in a very similar way to the real thing.

“It is very easy to fly, the important thing is to get it to fly slowly. Most models fly too quickly, so they look very unrealistic. But because of its size, it floats around the sky at a very realistic speed,” he said.

Speaking about the enduring popularity of the Vulcan, Mr Carr said: “We used to go to the Bournemouth Air Show display. The hairs on my arms would stand on end when it came over from the Boscombe end. I’d actually get goosebumps when it was coming.

“People were affected by it, the shape of it, the sound from it and its manoeuvrability. It must be the ultimate crowd pleaser.”

The Vulcan model may be spotted in the skies again on Sunday, as Mr Carr plans to fly his scale model at Bishopstone, Wiltshire, after being invited by Salisbury Model Flying Club.