A NORTH Yorkshire teenager, who has suffered with cancer, was given a tour of one of the region's top RAF bases as part of a charity day out.

Patrick Proctor, 18, from Harrogate visited the RAF station as part of a prize organised by the St James's Hospital Candlelighters Charity.

Patrick has just recovered from bone cancer after undergoing a protracted period of chemotherapy and as a present his father, Martin, bid £500 at a charity auction for the prize.

Patrick's visit included a flight in the station's Tucano simulator as well as a tour around Air Traffic Control and the Tucano servicing hangar before lunch in the Officers' Mess.

Patrick, a pupil at Harrogate Grammar School, described the Tucano simulator as the highlight of the day. He said: "It was quite hard to get used to and I nearly crashed it but it was a great experience".

Flight Lieutenant Dave Lomax said he was very impressed by Patrick's ability to control the simulator. He said: "He did a couple of take-offs and a couple of landings, and we were all quite impressed by his ability."

Flt Lt Lomax said that the simulator could give pilots an accurate idea of what flying over the North Yorkshire countryside is like.

"The simulator is really quite realistic because the pilot has 120 degrees of vision," said Flt Lt Lomax.

PICTURE: Patrick Procter, in the cockpit of a Tucano aircraft during his visit to RAF Linton-on-Ouse (Mike Tipping)