Relaxed Obama touches down to warm welcome

US president Barack Obama looked “relaxed and at home” tonight as he arrived in the UK for his first visit since being elected.

Air Force One touched down at Stansted Airport, Essex, at 7.50pm.

Mr Obama and first lady Michelle emerged from the Boeing 747, waving before walking down the steps to be greeted by Chancellor Alistair Darling.

The president then walked to his helicopter – Marine One – a Black Hawk flown in from America, to be taken to London.

At Regent’s Park an excited crowd of about 100 people waited outside for his arrival at Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence.

Police in high visibility jackets manned a security perimeter, stationed every 50 yards, with some unsuspecting joggers interrupted in their exercise to be stopped and searched.

Marine One arrived in central London within half an hour, the sound of helicopter rotor blades greeted by excited murmurings from the crowd as they scrambled for cameras and video phones.

One onlooker said: “I see it, it’s a bright light, there it is.”

Another added: “This is cool, this is awesome.”

The first helicopter appeared as a light on the horizon, swooping low beneath the tree line before appearing as a silhouette for a brief moment and landing at the ambassador’s residence.

But the crowd soon realised the Chinook did not belong to the president, whose own aircraft touched down a few minutes later.

Jenna Jabinsky, 20, a student from Long Island, New York, studying communications and business in the capital, said: “We took a lot of blurry pictures but at least we can tell our friends and family we got to see the helicopters first hand, they landed right there.”

Fellow student Darren Goldberg, 21, from New Jersey, said: “We learn all the time about the close relationship between the UK and the US so this is a symbolic and important visit.”

Mr Obama was soon on the move again, switching to the “Obamamobile”, an armoured limousine, for the short drive up the road to The American School in London, in St John’s Wood.

Half a dozen police motorcycle outriders signalled the arrival of a 12-vehicle convoy.

Inside the school grounds Mr Obama greeted American embassy employees as well as school parents and students.

Mr Obama made a short speech in which he talked about the close relationship between America and the UK and the importance of children as the future.

Mr Obama also talked about how he was happy to see so many children at the event because he was missing his own.

One student Kristopher, 17, who did not want to give his second name, was relaxed about shaking hands with the president.

He said: “It was cool, it was casual.”