A NEWLY-qualified Royal Air Force officer from Kidderminster is flying high after graduating from a prestigious military academy.

Duncan Parker-Groves, 34, graduated as a flight lieutenant at the Officer and Aircrew Cadet Training Unit at Royal Air Force College Cranwell, near Sleaford in Lincolnshire.

Mr Parker-Groves joined 55 other cadets, including representatives from the Ghana Air Force, the Jamaica Defence Force and the Royal Air Force of Oman, on parade in front of air vice-marshal Mike Lloyd, who was the reviewing officer on the day.

Following a fly past by a Typhoon GR4 aircraft from IX squadron from RAF Marham, the air vice-marshal was then invited to inspect the officer cadets on parade outside the College Hall.

Mr Parker-Groves, whose parents still live at Kidderminster, attended King Charles I School before graduating from Peninsula Dental School in Plymouth as a neuroscientist/dentist.

He joined the RAF in 2009 and now that he has become an officer, he will serve as a dentist at RAF Marham.

He is married to Lucy Parker-Groves and is a keen sportsman who enjoys running, road cycling and rock climbing.