No buried Spitfires found

An operation to excavate dozens of British Spitfires buried in Burma during the Second World War is set to begin next year.

It marks the climax of a 16-year search for the lost aircraft by Lincolnshire farmer and aircraft enthusiast David Cundall, who says it is a "major find".

The expedition to excavate dozens of British Spitfires buried in Burma during the Second World War may not have occurred if the Prime Minister had not called for the suspension of sanctions against Burma during a visit to the country in April, according to Mr Cundall.

Mr Cundall had been sending letters to Mr Cameron calling for the removal of sanctions before the Prime Minister's trip to Burma.

Later in the year the Prime Minister sent him a letter of congratulations in which he expressed the hope that the Spitfires would fly once again in Britain, according to Mr Cundall.

Speaking before the announcement to evacuate dozens of British Spitfires buried during the Second World War today, Lincolnshire farmer and aircraft enthusiast David Cundall said:

An operation to excavate dozens of British Spitfires buried in Burma during the Second World War is set to begin next year.

It marks the climax of a 16-year search for the lost aircraft by Lincolnshire farmer and aircraft enthusiast David Cundall.

Mr Cundall, 63, has poured tens of thousands of pounds into the venture - he says he stopped counting when the cost hit £130,000 - and hopes the recovered aircraft can be restored and eventually returned to flight.

He believes Lord Louis Mountbatten ordered the burial of 36 Spitfires in 1945 at the Mingaladon airfield, a major British base in Burma, as the Second World War was drawing to a close.