A HUGE military plane was spotted in the skies above Runcorn and Widnes this morning, Monday.

The Royal Air Force aircraft – a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III – was seen circling over the area, as well as Warrington and Merseyside.

It originally took off from RAF Brize Norton near Oxford at 9am before flying north, according to FlightRadar24.

Once in the area, it looped straight over Warrington at around 1,775ft before appearing to land at Liverpool John Lennon Airport at 10.47am.

After taking off almost immediately, it then looped over Warrington once more at 1,775ft before landing at Liverpool again.

The aircraft took off for a third time, looping over Halewood, Runcorn and Widnes a number of times, before appearing to land.

READ> Halton set for thunderstorms as weather warning issued

It then took off and set about returning to RAF Brize Norton at 11.13am.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence confirmed the reason for the aircraft flying in the area was to complete routine essential operational training.

They added that civilian airports across the UK offer unusual airspace for crews to train in to ensure they remain ready and able to deploy on global operations.