PILOTS and air traffic controllers have reported ten ‘near air misses’ over Cumbria since 2000.

Details of incidents have been released by the Royal Air Force following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by the Westmorland Gazette.

The incidents between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009, involved either two training MoD aircraft or a single MoD jet and a private aircraft.

Five of the collisions were of the most serious risk category A – where there had been an ‘actual risk of collision’.

The other five were classed as category B, where ‘the safety of the aircraft was compromised’.

The FOI request also revealed a category A near-collision above Over Kellet, in North Lancashire, in December 2001.

The findings have prompted Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron to say that he would be raising the issue with the MoD.

“I don’t want to criticise the MoD for low flying because it’s an important part of their work and they have to practice somewhere,” said Mr Farron.

“I don’t want the RAF to feel that we don’t want them here in Cumbria, although some people might disagree with me. However, any risk to the public caused by aircraft flying too close to one another is unacceptable and I will be speaking to the MoD.”

When the distance between two aircraft raises safety concerns among pilots or air traffic controllers, an ‘airprox’ is reported to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Each airprox is then given a risk assessment to determine how serious the near-miss was.

RAF regional community relations officer for Cumbria, Carol Bell, said when a near-miss was reported and then established to have occured, measures are put in place as soon as possible to avoid a repeat.

She said: “No near air miss is good.

“However, it is perhaps worth noting that of the airprox in the years listed, the majority happened in the first five years, with only two occurrences in the last five years.

“While we will not cease from working hard to prevent occurrences, encouragingly, the general trend is downwards.”

Cumbria’s airspace is the fifth most-used low flying area in the British Isles.

The MoD said low flying remained an essential skill for pilots who can be sent to many of the world’s troublespots at short notice.

In June 1993, a Tornado jet travelling at 480mph collided with a helicopter above Farleton, just yards from the busy M6.

The Tornado clipped the tail of the chopper sending it plummeting to the ground.

The two men inside the helicopter died instantly, but the jet pilots made a safe emergency landing.