Red Arrows leave a trail of red, white and blue across North Yorkshire

The Red Arrows left a trail of red, white and blue smoke as they performed a flypast in North Yorkshire on Saturday morning as part of this year's more muted Armed Forces Day celebrations.

The Hawk fast-jets took to the skies above Scarborough which had been due to host an event which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The aero acrobats then flew over Leeming and Catterick to complete the fly-past.

The Ministry of Defence announced in May that Scarborough will now host the Armed Forces Day national event in 2021.

The Armed Forces Day flag has been raised in tribute at locations across the country.

In a statement, the Queen thanked the country's armed forces, saying:

"Having had members of my family serve in each of the Armed Services, I know only too well of the pride service personnel take in their duty.

"As your Commander-in-Chief, I send my warmest best wishes to you all, your families, and the entire Armed Forces community."

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson shared a video message on Twitter in which he hailed the contribution of the "heroes" from the British Army, RAF and Royal Navy during the Covid-19 crisis.

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot, controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund, urged people to remember some of the 300,000 RAF veterans in need of support, be that through financial difficulties or loneliness, who are particularly vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With this year's celebrations being held virtually for the first time in history, military bands are due to give performances streamed on the armed forces' Facebook and Twitter pages.

Read more: Queen and PM hail servicemen and women on Armed Forces Day