Sir Richard Branson praises UK's youngest pilot

A teenager who became the UK’s youngest pilot has received recognition from business magnate Sir Richard Branson.

Milo, from Kington, Herefordshire, received his licence when he turned 17, the youngest you can be to hold a licence, on 31 October.

He had been obsessed with planes since he was a boy, starting lessons at the age of 14 and taking all his tests before his 17th birthday.

Recently, Milo received an email from Virgin congratulating him on his achievement, and he was sent a note by Sir Richard himself.

The short letter, signed by the famous businessman, read: “Milo, congratulations on flying high.”

Milo told BBC Hereford and Worcester that he had been approached by a reporter at a newspaper who asked if they could pass on his email address to “someone special”.

He said: “A few minutes later, I had a notification come through and it said Sir Richard Branson on the top and I thought ‘oh my God’.

“It was quite crazy, it was when I read down it and saw all the Virgin logos that I thought ‘wow this is genuine’,” Milo added.

He said his family could not believe it either and had to read the email several times before it sunk in.

“I never expected this sort of recognition at all. I’m just here to fly a plane, I didn’t think it was anything extremely special but then it all literally took off,” Milo said.

When Milo collected his licence, the Civil Aviation Authority told him he was the youngest person to get his licence in the UK.

Milo used to live near Shobdon Airfield, near Leominster, when he was younger and said he would watch planes fly over his house

He went on his first flight when he was nine and was allowed to hold the controls, five years before his first lesson in a single engine aircraft.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]