A low-flying plane has been spotted circling in the skies over the county this morning

The Bombardier Challenger 650 took off from London Biggin Hill Airport earlier on a transatlantic flight but a small technical fault was discovered.

As a precaution the pilot decided to abandon the planned route, and has since been flying in circles over Maidstone and the surrounding countryside to burn off fuel before returning to Biggin Hill later.

According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft is cruising at a steady altitude of around 3,900ft.

A spokesman for London Biggin Hill Airport said: "After take-off it was en route for a transatlantic flight and detected a small technical problem.

"The pilot decided not to follow the route and to return to Biggin Hill. He has to burn enough fuel to land."

It is not known how many people are on board the aircraft, and the airport would not disclose that information.

Watch: the plane seen from Senacre in Maidstone

After burning off enough fuel during the flight over Maidstone, the plane later landed safely back at Biggin Hill Airport.

The plane is part of the Bombardier Challenger 600 series, a range of private jets.

In August people in Maidstone saw a Bombardier Global 5000 flying low over the town with its landing gear down and a hatch near the cockpit open.

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone.