The Times - UK (2020-07-27)

the times | Monday July 27 2020 2GM 3

News

Staff at a safari park say they have seen
baboons armed with knives, screwdriv-
ers and a chainsaw.
The baboons at Knowsley Safari on
Merseyside have a reputation for van-
dalising visitors’ cars and have ripped
off windscreen wipers and mirrors.
Workers believe that some visitors
have been arming them with weapons
“for a laugh”, The Sunday Times reports.
“We’re not sure if they are being
given weapons by some of the guests

Mach Loop

Dolgellau

Anglesey

Machynlleth

Snowdonia

National Park

10 miles

A

A

A

Bangor

Colwyn Bay

WALES

For decades north Wales has been a
training ground for RAF pilots practis-
ing low flying.
In the valleys and on the peaks of
Snowdonia enthusiasts flock to see the
spectacle of pilots streaking by at
500mph, and locals and farmers com-
plain in vain about the noise.
In nearby Anglesey and North
Gwynedd, however, residents say that a
new fleet of “buzzing” RAF planes is
“adversely affecting the mental health”
of those living below their flight paths.
Locals affected by the Beechcraft
Texan aircraft complain of “a distinc-
tive loud, buzzing noise” when pilots in
training practise flying close to the
ground. Hundreds have signed an
online petition and the local MP,
Liz Saville Roberts, is taking up
their cause.
“It’s like living next door
to Biggles”, wrote one, re-
ferring to the fictional
pilot and adventurer.
One woman complain-
ing about the “ridiculous
amount of noise pollu-
tion”, added: “I am also late
in my pregnancy and with
the lockdown it’s been tough
and I don’t wish our baby to be
woken by those loud sounds early
mornings onwards. Please make it
stop!” A third said: “It does my head in
buzzing around everywhere like a
bloody giant wasp.”
The dispute echoes the long-term
complaints of residents in Snowdonia
living close to the Mach Loop. Made up
of valleys between Dolgellau and
Machynlleth, it is well known for jet
pilots training at low altitude.
Jeremy Quin, the defence procure-
ment minister, recently confirmed that
the Beechcraft Texan had been prohib-
ited from flying over the sea until im-
proved safety measures were fitted, in-
creasing its prevalence over land.
Ms Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru MP
for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said: “The
issue is that they make a high-pitched
and intrusive buzzing noise.” She has
often raised issues relating to low flying
in the Mach Loop. In recent days North
Wales police have issued warnings
about dangerous parking as plane spot-
ters go in search of photos.
She added: “These are narrow, rocky,
mountainous valleys and it does appear
that sometimes these aircraft are not
aware there are people in these valleys.”
Alan Jones Evans, a local councillor,
said: “Since I was a schoolboy there has
always been concern about low-flying
issues. We’ve been complaining for 40
years and nothing seems to be done
about it. They come very quickly and
give you a hell of a fright. It’s disrespect-
ful when there is a funeral and you get
these screaming aeroplanes. The
schoolchildren get frightened.”
The plane spotters say

Buzz off! RAF low flyers hit by flak

Charlotte Wace
Northern Correspondent

Plane spotters seek out warplanes in the Mach Loop, such as this US air force F-15 Strike Eagle, but it is the Beechcraft Texan, circled, that is causing local annoyance

ALAMY; CHARLOTTE GRAHAM; CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES

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No monkey business — our baboons are armed and dangerous

who want to see them attack cars, or if

they’re fishing them out of pick-up

trucks and vans,” a member of staff said.

“They will literally go into people’s tool-

boxes and carry them around. One of

the baboons was seen lugging around a

chainsaw.”

Another worker said: “The baboons

have been found with knives and

screwdrivers. I do wonder if it’s some of

the guests handing them out.”

A car mechanic in Sale said: “I’ve had

two customers this year who became

victims of those baboons. I’ve a mate

with a garage in St Helens and it’s ex-

actly the same. The kids start chirping

up saying they want monkeys all over

the car, and the next thing you know,

you’re driving home with no registra-

tion plate. Good money for us, mind

you, so I’m not complaining.”

The park poured cold water on the

sightings. “We believe many of these

stories have grown in exaggeration as

they’ve been retold, with embellish-

ment to make the objects that are

sometimes found in the enclosure seem

more exciting and unbelievable,” it said.

The safari park reopened on June 15

after the government relaxed the lock-

down restrictions for attractions such

as zoos and aquariums.

The park, which has the longest

safari drive in the UK at five miles,

opened with Covid-19 security precau-

tions in place. Among the measures are

hygiene screens, one-way systems and

allotted times for visitors.

Its website says that due to the meas-

ures, its staff will be “unable to return

any car parts that our cheeky baboons

may take”, if the visitors choose to drive

through the Baboon Jungle. The 550-

acre safari park, which is home to lions,

tigers, rhinos, wildebeest and camels,

has long argued that the attraction

should have been allowed to open its

gates after lockdown sooner.

The park questioned why changes to

the Covid-19 lockdown allowed drivers

to use McDonald’s drive-through res-

taurants but not to visit its animals.

A spokesman said that remaining

closed while such restaurants were al-

lowed to reopen to customers “didn’t

make sense.”

Ali Mitib

there has been a considerable decline in

sightings over the past year and a half.

One said that publicising the area

with videos of low-flying jets on social

media had brought negative attention,

portraying the area as dangerous. “It

used to be a small group of photogra-

phers – now people think it’s an air

show. It’s not an air show, it’s a training

ground. Photography is very deceiving,

and people use it to make a news article.

“I think the Mach Loop is pretty

much finished because the RAF

stopped a lot of flying there,” he said.

A spokesman for the RAF said: “The

RAF is striving to ensure that disturb-

ance is kept to an absolute minimum

and noise pollution distributed as

evenly as possible. However, we

must continue to conduct

essential flying training.”

Believe me,

it’s quite

the rush

Behind the story

F

or many the

allure is beyond

comprehension

(Sam Masters

writes). Who

would shiver for hours on

the side of a mountain

when even the hardy

Welsh sheep have called

it quits?

Few can understand the

long wait in hope of

seeing a jet for, at best, 20

seconds as it approaches,

flies past and whizzes

around the corner into

another valley.

Most of the time

those who trek to the

loop will be

train-spotting cousins, it

seems, rarely delighting

in a spot until it’s

documented.

Ask if they’ve “seen

anything good” and, if

you’re an obvious

outsider, you’ll probably

get a grunt in response.

Comradeship with

these solitary spotters is

hard won. Only after a

certain number of hours

in sodden fields can you

count yourself a member

of the clan.

You might find them at

the Mach Loop but they

are just as likely to head

for Heathrow, noting

unusual tail registrations

and reveling in the sight

of a special livery.

Then there’s the casual

spotter, who’ll make a

detour for an airbase

whenever the opportunity

arises, perhaps three or

four times a year.

They may make a

detour to RAF

Lakenheath in Suffolk or

to Oxfordshire where, if

tankers and troop

transporters are your

thing, RAF Brize Norton

is a good bet.

The lasting memory is

always the roar of the

engines, particularly the

RB199s of the now

departed Tornado, at

RAF Leuchars near the

Fife coast, where spotters

used to be able to stand at

the end of the runway.

These days, however,

with security tighter than

ever, it is becoming more

difficult. That’s why the

Mach Loop, with its

ready access to fast,

low-flying jets

remains such a

draw.

disappointed. The wrong

weather and the sortie is

off. Any number of

reasons can mean the jets

don’t fly that day.

The doubters, however,

are missing the point.

The noise is unlike

anything you’ll find

outside a rocket launch.

It shakes you to your

muddy boots, the air

reverberating and filled

with the heady scent of

aviation fuel.

There appear to be two

main types of spotter.

There’s the devotee,

armed with pad, pencil,

anorak and long lens to

note the particulars of

the planes they see,

grazing on pork pies and

sipping from a flask.

They’re a relation of their