A CHORLEY youngster stepped up the bidding at a charity auction for the opportunity of a lifetime -- learning to train a hawk so that the Red Arrows could land safely.

Daniel Roberts, ten, of Merefield, Astley Village, paid a whopping £100 for the day out on Saturday with a falconer whose hawks are trained to scare away gulls, which can be a potential aircraft hazard.

Daniel, a pupil at St Lawrence CE Primary School, Highfield Road South, said: "I have been saving for a long time and I was desperate to bid for something, so my parents said I could as long as I paid for it myself.

"I didn't mind paying so much because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that people do not usually get to do."

His father Nigel, 42, is a flying club member at Blackpool Airport and Daniel often accompanies him.

After the initial training exercise, guided by Ian Whittaker, Daniel learnt to launch various hawks to frighten off the seagulls just before the Red Arrows display team roared onto the runway.

He was then greeted by the famous pilots who thanked him for keeping the skies safe.

He said: " I am very interested in birds, I especially like the Harris Hawk.

"It was a bit frightening at first when I held the bird because it was so big and heavy but I soon got used to it and didn't want to let it go in the end."

The airport's staff, air traffic controllers and members of local flying clubs auction raised more than £5,000, which went towards Derian House Children's Hospice and the North West Air Ambulance.