Families gathered in open spaces on Tuesday to watch 100 aeroplanes take part in a historic flypast to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Air Force.

The show could be seen from Fairlop Waters in Redbridge as well as Wanstead and Leyton as it headed to Buckingham Palace, where the Royal Family waited on the balcony in front of thousands of spectators.

The display, which included Spitfires and F-35 Lightning stealth fighters, featured 22 Typhoons arranged to spell out 100 as they flew over the capital.

The armada, led by nine helicopters, left Ipswich at 12.45pm and headed south over Chelmsford, with nine Red Arrows at the back.

After flying down the A12 corridor to London, which took them over Fairlop Waters in Redbridge, and a spectacular show over The Mall, the aircraft split into five groups.

The RAF was created on April 1 1918 when the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service merged. It was the world's first independent air force.

The Queen was joined by other members of the Royal Family at a service at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday to mark the RAF’s centenary.

The service was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby.

In his sermon he said the RAF has been a "decisive factor in saving this country's independence, its democracy and its freedom, its hope of civilisation and its contribution to humanity for the future".

He added: “For that reason, to celebrate and give thanks to God for the Providence which has brought us the Royal Air Force, its pilots and crews and ground crews, is proper and right.”