A complaint by a member of the public led to a stunt in which a peregrine falcon was to swoop down to earth 1,500ft from an aircraft being cancelled.

As reported in the Echo, Crowbar was all set to amaze crowds at the Lincolnshire Show by performing a high-speed dive from the aircraft into the waiting glove of falconer Neil Mumby.

But following a complaint to the Civil Aviation Authority, questioning the legality of dropping objects from an aircraft, the spectacle was pulled.

Organisers insist they had all the necessary paperwork in place but wanted to avoid any potential bad publicity.

Pilot Malcolm Howland said the CAA had a "big rule" about not dropping things from aircraft.

"We were not dropping the bird – we were releasing it," he said.

"We have now double-checked whether we can legally do it and there appears to be nothing stopping us."

Mr Mumby, from the Woodside Falconry Centre, near Lincoln, said it was unfortunate that so many spectators were disappointed that the stunt did not go ahead at the show.

"It's unfortunate that 50,000 people were left disappointed by one complaint," he said.

The stunt will now be performed at the Wickenby Wings and Wheels event at Wickenby airfield this weekend.

For more on the peregrine falcon story, see Monday's Lincolnshire Echo.