Handley Page Victor aircraft on display at Imperial War Museum Duxford after five-year restoration

• ITV News Anglia's Stuart Leithes went to see the aircraft

A Cold War aircraft has been restored to its former glory and set to go on display following five years of restoration.

The Handley Page Victor XH648 was retired to the museum at IWM Duxford in 1976, but it spent years sitting outside being slowly damaged by the weather.

It has now moved into the Conservation Hall the for its final six weeks of conservation works.

The Victor was first flown in 1959 as a bomber aircraft and then, later on, was used as an air-to-air refueling aircraft. It was stationed at RAF Honington in Suffolk and RAF Marham in Norfolk.

Garden West, 83, from Oakham was stationed at RAF Marham between 1965 and 1969 and flew in the aircraft.

"I think it's absolutely great that they have gone to all this trouble and worked very hard on this to bring it back in," he said.

"It's sat here for some time in the open air and deteriorated quite a lot shining now and I think it's wonderful."

The Victor was flown on missions in the 1960s at the height of tensions between Western Allies and the Soviet Union.

Carl Warner, from the Imperial War Museum Duxford, said: "The aircraft is now fully conserved and it's stabilised.

"It's in great condition and it's able to be a witness to that Cold War conflict for many many years to come thanks to the hard work of the conservation team here at Duxford."