A BRADFORD man says he cannot wait to start his debut season as a Red Arrows pilot later this month.

Flight Lieutenant Tom Bould, 33, is ready to lift off as part of a member of this season's nine-strong squad for the Royal Air Force's aerobatic team.

The former pupil at Woodhouse Grove School, Apperley Bridge, has undergone seven months of intensive training at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and also in Andravida, Greece earlier this spring.

His debut season starts on Saturday, May 23, when he takes to the skies at the Llandudno Air Show.

The Red Arrows season includes 60 appearances throughout the summer, up to their closing display at the Battle of Britain Anniversary Air Show in Cambridgeshire on September 20.

They will perform across the UK and Europe including France, Belgium and Sweden.

He will complete a total of three season as a Red Arrows pilot.

Ft Lt Bould says he is ready to swap his intensive seven-month training regime for performing in front of thousands of people at a range of events, including the Great North Run in Newcastle in September.

He said: "It's exciting, I just can't wait to perform.

"Making my debut will be a hugely proud moment.

"We will be performing in displays across the UK and Europe during the summer.

"There is not one event I am looking forward to the most this season, I can't wait to take part in them all.

"I'm not nervous yet but sure I will be when I get ready to perform.

"The seven months I have been training have gone by so quickly and I'm sure the season will go as quickly as well.

"My family and friends have been very supportive.

"It's not just about the Red Arrows pilots, it's also about the 120 people who support us, such as the engineers, who are working really hard.

"The training has been hard work but it's been enjoyable too. It has been busy and intense."

Ft Lt Gould completed his winter training in March before moving to Greece to perfect the display.

They performed their nine-ship display three times a day to meet the high standards expected for the display season. They were marked by the pilots and were awarded Public Display Authority which allows them to display in public and wear the iconic red suits.

He grew up in Heaton and left school in 2000 and, after a year of travelling, he went to Manchester University to study for a degree in aerospace engineering.

He joined the Royal Air Force in 2005 and has previously had several deployments to the Falklands Islands and exercises in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

His fellow new Red Arrows recruits are Flight Lieutenants Michael Bowden, 34, and Emmet Cox, 36. They were all selected following the submission of a written application, interview and then fulfilling a series of flight tests in Cyprus last summer.