Pilot pulls off Count Binface stunt for Clacton byelection

Plane spends 30 minutes off the Essex coast marking out shape of a bin in apparent tribute to Nigel Farage’s rival A pilot has traced the shape of a bin with their flight path near Clacton before Count Binface challenges Nigel Farage in a byelection on Thursday. The light aircraft spent around half an hour between 2,100ft and 4,150ft above the sea near the Essex coastal town zigzagging to mark out the shape of a bin, according to data from Flightradar24. The plane took off from Earls Colne airfield near Colchester at 2.48pm on Saturday and landed at 4.13pm. The aircraft is in private ownership, according to Flightradar24, and the pilot’s identity is unknown. Voters will go to the polls in Clacton in a byelection triggered by the resignation of Farage, the Reform UK leader. Count Binface, a self-proclaimed space warrior who wears a bin-shaped helmet, is Farage’s main rival. There are also three candidates from the Official Monster Raving Loony party and numerous independents. All the main Westminster parties are boycotting the byelection, which they have dismissed as a stunt. A survey by Survation on behalf of Mandate Research suggests Farage will win 73% of the vote while Count Bin