A HUGE American bomber has been circling over Herefordshire after sending an emergency alert.

The US Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, coded SPICY22, was circling a huge area over Herefordshire and Gloucestershire on Tuesday afternoon.

The continuous loop covered just south of Ledbury, east of Ross-on-Wye and other places including Tewkesbury, Bishop's Cleeve and Cheltenham.

The B-52 took off from RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, just before 11.30am, but it was still in the sky two hours later.

The plane reportedly sent a Squawk 7700 emergency alert, a code for general emergencies. This could have been because one of the plane's eight engines failed, and it needed to burn fuel before landing.

Entering service in 1951, it is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds worth of weapons and can reach a maximum speed of 1,000kmh, or 621mph.

The B-52 can perform strategic attack, close-air support, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations, while during Desert Storm, B-52s delivered 40 per cent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces.

It is also highly effective for ocean surveillance and can assist in anti-ship and mine-laying operations. In two hours, two B-52s can monitor 140,000 square miles of ocean surface.