A pilot who denied flying his plane in a no-fly zone where the Red Arrows were performing has had the case against him dropped.

Stuart Ball, from Swadlingcote, Derbyshire, was due to stand trial at Eastbourne Magistrates Court yesterday accused of flying his Auster 5 plane less than 5,000ft above sea level during the Airbourne air show in Eastbourne on August 18 last year.

The elite Red Arrows display team was performing as part of the annual event with nine Hawk jets travelling up to 500mph.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, which had originally brought the prosecution, said: "We can confirm the case has been withdrawn but we do not go into the legal reasons for that."