American stealth fighter aircraft have arrived in Britain to take part in a training exercise, officials have revealed.

The four F-117A Nighthawk planes are at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk for Operation Coronet Nighthawk.

On Tuesday, a United States Airforce spokesman said the two week exercise aims to give pilots and crews the chance to familiarise themselves with US operations in Europe.

The stealth fighters, from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, fly at subsonic speeds and can avoid radar detection.

The spokesman said: "The deployment is giving them the opportunity of training in the European theatre that they do not receive in the US.

"This is something which is done in different theatres of operation on a regular basis and it is the first time in Europe since 1999."