Residents in and around Braintree could see the number of planes flying over their homes triple under plans to ease congestion above Heathrow.

Up to 12 low-flying planes an hour could fly over homes during the day time - one every five minutes.

Daily departures from Stansted Airport currently leave in two directions, with about 58 flying south east towards Dover and 51 taking off east over the Braintree district towards Clacton.

NATS Holdings, which manages the country’s air traffic, is suggesting practically abandoning the Dover route and increasing the number of flights using the Clacton route to up to 153 a day.

See this week's Times for the full story.