A ROYAL Navy pilot left pupils at his former school stunned yesterday as he turned up in a helicopter.

Lieutenant Ian Bennett dropped in at the Misbourne School in Great Missenden as pupils who were outside thinking they were taking part in a fire drill looked on in disbelief.

Lt Bennett flew to his old school from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall in his Merlin Mk 2 chopper before giving a talk to pupils about his career in the Royal Navy.

A group of students who had expressed an interest in joining the armed forces or careers in aviation, as well as all the whole sixth form, were given the chance to go on board the helicopter.

And the school returned the favour, as Lt Bennett and the rest of his crew were given a free school dinner before they flew home.

Lt Bennett left the Misbourne in 2001 and went on to study geography at Birmingham University. He joined the Navy in September 2005 and the Naval Air Squadron in June 2009 and during his career has been deployed to the east coast of the USA, the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden.