ALMOST exactly 65 years after a World War Two plane crashed at Pawlett, killing its crew, the aircraft has been recovered - thanks to a ten-year labour of love by a Somerset man.

Plane enthusiast Tim Hake confesses to being "obsessed" with aviation archaeology, finding, researching and sometimes recovering aircraft from war-time crash sites.

He is part of a group called Somerset Aviation Enthusiasts, and in 1996 he and Highbridge historian Colin Parish set out to locate and recover a Bristol Blenheim bomber thought to have crashed at Pawlett Hams.

Tim told the Mercury: "Luckily, Colin's father knew exactly where the location was and it was duly logged.

"We located the joint landowners living not far from me, so permission was asked to do a dig.

"To cut a long story short, there then followed 10 years of research - blood, sweat and tears - until last Saturday when the recovery took place."

Tim's research has provided him with a full history of the aircraft, the crash report, and pictures of the crew who perished when the plane went down on July 5, 1942.

Tim said: "It was as close to the 65th anniversary as we could manage. The recovery involved friends from Germany and all around the UK.

"Much material was recovered from a very large hole. We are now starting to clean and catalogue parts. It is hoped that some material can be exhibited in a local museum.

"It is also hoped that some form of memorial can be placed near the site. It would be a fitting tribute to three young men who gave their all, only to die in tragic circumstances in our county."

You can see details of the tragic crew and the plane's final journey in Tuesday's Mercury.