Tom Barker flies into the record books

A 16-year-old jet-setter roared into the record books when he took to the skies above the Black Country.

Tom Barker became the youngest pilot in the UK to fly the four-seater Cirrus SR20 solo when he set off on a 45-minute circuit from Halfpenny Green Airport in Bobbington yesterday.

The teenager, a pupil at Haybridge High School in Brake Lane, Hagley, has been flying under instruction for two years with Flight Academy Wolverhampton and wants to embark on a career in the cockpit.

He completed the solo flight just a month after he became eligible to fly solo when he turned 16 on December 8. "It's very exciting to be the youngest to do it," Tom said. "It was fantastic, I loved it." He added: "I have always been fascinated by planes.

"When we have gone on holiday — from our first one to Spain when I was seven — I have always been excited about the flight."

Tom, whose 18-year-old sister Alice hopes to work as a flight attendant, wants to secure his pilot licence when he is 17.

His mother Julie Barker, aged 43, said Tom's achievement was "brilliant". She added: "We are proud as punch."