A pilot traced the shape of a bin with their flight path near Clacton on Saturday, according to data from Flightradar24. The light aircraft spent approximately half an hour between 2,100ft and 4,150ft above the sea near the Essex coastal town, zigzagging to create the bin shape.
The flight occurred before Count Binface challenges Nigel Farage in a byelection on Thursday. The plane took off from Earls Colne airfield near Colchester at 2.48pm on Saturday and landed at 4.13pm. The aircraft is privately owned, and the pilot's identity is not known.
Voters in Clacton will go to the polls in a byelection triggered by the resignation of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Count Binface, who wears a bin-shaped helmet, is Farage's main rival. Other candidates include three from the Official Monster Raving Loony party and several independents.
The main Westminster parties are boycotting the byelection, which they have described as a stunt. A survey by Survation for Mandate Research suggests Farage could win 73% of the vote, with Count Binface potentially receiving 20%.
Farage resigned after it emerged he was being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner over a £5m gift from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne, received before he took his seat in the Commons. The investigation was suspended upon his resignation but is expected to resume if he wins the byelection.