AN airman helped spread some much needed cheer during the coronavirus lockdown.

On May 25, residents all over Worcester and Malvern were treated to the sights of a smiley face and a heart in the sky drawn by local pilot Richard Goodwin.

Mr Goodwin, who is a retired RAF pilot, decided to fly out and draw the pictures to help lift spirits on bank holiday Monday.

Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester, he said: “The restrictions were lifted on recreational flying about a week ago so I wasn’t breaking any rules.

"There is so much negative news right now so I thought I would give it a go.

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"There were crystal clear skies and the right weather so it is very nice that some people saw it and enjoyed it.

“You have to have a plan (for drawing) before you get in the air. It is a big circle which is relatively easy to do.

“We do love the Malvern Hills and the people of Malvern. It was a bank holiday and people should have been out with friends rather than at home. We are trying to work out how to write NHS in the sky with a heart around it.”

Mr Goodwin regularly helps a charity called Fly2Help, which gives people the chance to enjoy aviation experiences.

Kim Lewington, from the charity, said it was great to see the response from residents across Worcestershire and Gloucestershire after the images were drawn.

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She said: “It has been pretty amazing - one tweet I loved was that all of Gloucestershire was smiling back.

Richard is based next door to us at Gloucester Airport and wanted to give something back.

He has always been a keen supporter of what we do and when we have trainees in he regularly spends time talking to them about the aircraft."

In addition to providing air experiences to young people and families, the charity also runs an “air smiles” programme, of which the ones seen across Worcestershire this weekend were examples.

Mrs Lewington added: “The air smiles can give anyone who is going through a tough time in their life a bit of a pick-up."