PAPER lanterns released skywards by revellers celebrating the Chinese New Year tomorrow could mean danger for RAF aircraft, defence chiefs have warned.

Bosses at RAF Leeming, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, have called for the trend of releasing lanterns at times of celebration to be curbed.

The lanterns, although flimsy, can travel for several miles before coming to rest.

They may then be blown around by the wind into areas where they are not wanted.

Although night-flying missions are currently not taking place at RAF Leeming, bosses say the spent lanterns can still pose a risk to aircraft.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit.

Squadron Leader Kieran O'Sullivan, commanding officer of Operations Squadron, said: "The lanterns are obviously very pretty and quite enigmatic, especially when released as a group.

"However, in the cold night air, they rise to find their own level, sometimes up to 500 or 600 feet, and can easily travel five miles or more in favorable conditions.

"The problem for our single jet-engined Hawk aircraft is that the debris left by these lanterns, which can be literally sucked into the engine and cause lots of expensive damage as well as dozens of man-hours in rectification work."

Sqn Ldr O'Sullivan was keen to stress that the impact of damage to aircraft is very much ground-based, while they are moving around the airfield, and the potential of damage to aircraft in flight is very low.

He said: "It is not only Hawk aircraft that are at risk, we get different aircraft types visiting regularly, including helicopters and multi-engined aircraft, and the lanterns also threaten farmers' livestock. "Recent radio coverage highlighted the risk they pose to animals, we would like to echo these sentiments by asking people who wish to celebrate Chinese New Year to consider what impact the release of a lantern could have to aviation and farming in the region.

"We do not want to dampen anybody's Chinese New Year celebrations and simply want to make people aware of the hazards these lanterns pose to aviation.

"We would like to wish everybody in the region all the very best for this Chinese New Year."