Amazon has expanded its UK drone delivery service to around 8,000 households after securing a landmark safety approval from the Civil Aviation Authority.

The company has extended its Prime Air service across Darlington, County Durham, increasing the number of eligible households from around 600 following the launch of its UK trial in May.

The expansion comes after Amazon became the first drone operator in the world to receive a SAIL 4 operating authorisation and flightworthiness validation from the CAA.

The approval allows its drones to fly further and over more densely populated areas, paving the way for a wider UK rollout.

Prime Air enables customers to order everyday essentials, including beauty products, baby supplies and technology accessories, for delivery in under two hours at no additional cost to Prime members.

Eligible products must weigh less than 2.2kg and fit inside a large shoebox, while customers must have access to a suitable garden or driveway within a 7.5-mile radius of Amazon’s Darlington fulfilment centre.

The service uses Amazon’s electric MK30 drones, which are equipped with machine-learning technology to detect and avoid obstacles such as people, animals, washing lines and trampolines.

Amazon director of Prime Air Europe, Theunis Scheepers, said the approval was the result of years of engineering work and represented a significant milestone for the business.

He added: “For customers in Darlington it means getting what they need quickly, safely, and reliably.”

The expansion is another step forward in Amazon’s efforts to establish drone deliveries as a mainstream fulfilment option, more than a decade after founder Jeff Bezos first outlined the company’s ambitions for the technology.

However, Darlington remains Amazon’s only operational Prime Air location in the UK, with it yet to confirm where or when the service will launch next.

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