A HUGE RAF plane has been heard flying over Bournemouth this evening.

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III took flight at Bournemouth Airport at about 7pm before heading south west towards Corfe Castle and looping around the Purbeck area.

The plane design was initially developed for the United States Air Force in the 1980s and later used by the Royal Air Force, with the first C-17 being delivered to the RAF in 2001.

(Image: flightradar24.com)

Boeing says the aircraft can carry a payload of up to 74,797kg, fly 6,230 nautical miles with no payload, refuel while in flight, and still land in less than 914 metres on an airfield.

A similar model plane was used to deliver Keiko the whale to Iceland, and it has reportedly been used for logistical military support in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as delivering humanitarian aid to Haiti and Turkey following earthquakes.