HUNDREDS of people gathered to watch the 'THANK U NHS' Spitfire flyby over Leighton Hospital today.

The former war plane executed a spectacular wing dip as it flew over the Crewe medical complex at around 10.45am with crowds of spotters and enthusiasts watching on from vantage points along Middlewich Road and at Leighton.

The World War II reconnaissance plan was flying over a number of hospitals across the UK on Sunday as a thankyou gesture for the dedication shown by NHS staff during the pandemic.

The first left Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire and headed over Leighton Hospital and then the Countess of Chester Hospital and Warrington General Hospital later in the morning.

Members of the public have been able to nominate the name of a loved one which has been handwritten onto the plane to raise money for NHS Charities Together.