Star Wars 7: Millennium Falcon Sighting Shocks Photographer

A man has told Sky News he “fell off his seat” when he realised he had captured photos of the new Star Wars set while taking publicity shots of aeroplanes.

Credit: Airborne Aviation/Matthew Myatt

Matthew Myatt was taking stock photos for the flying school Airbourne Aviation over Greenham Common near Newbury, Berkshire, on Tuesday.

But when he got home to load the images onto his computer he was amazed to see he had captured shots of a totally different type of aircraft - the Millennium Falcon (see above).

Mr Myatt told Sky News he had noticed something “unusual” on the ground while working but had to get his “son to pinch him” and confirm what he thought it was.

His photo shows the partially constructed aircraft alongside an X-wing fighter, crane and other parts of a set. Mr Myatt said he could also see that trees and bushes had been planted on the common.

The former airfield was famous in the 1980s for the women’s peace camp that sprang up around it in protest at the stationing of nuclear weapons on the site.

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Director JJ Abrams has been filming Star Wars: Episode VII at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Ireland and Abu Dhabi.

Mr Myatt said: “I grew up with Star Wars but this is something I never thought I’d see in real life. It was a real shocker.”

He added that he is planning to go back to have a closer look.

The new film will see Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill return as Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker.

Ford had to have surgery on his left leg in June after breaking it on set.

The plot of Episode VII has been kept a secret but it takes place 30 years after the end of Return Of The Jedi.

The film is due for release in the UK in December 2015.