Eglinton Spitfire quest

A Spitfire, the British fighter plane that staved off the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, is believed to be buried underground on the site of the City of Derry Airport at Eglinton - a former Royal Airforce (RAF) base.

Gareth Jones and Steve Vizard have been keen to unravel the mystery of the missing aircraft. The RAF base at Eglinton was established in 1941 to defend Londonderry from German attack.

On May 18, 1942, two fighter planes went up to practise dog-fights, but one crashed and buried itself in soft ground.

The 21-year-old pilot, Bill Creed, part of a Welsh unit, parachuted to safety but the missing aircraft has never been found.

Mr Jones came to Londonderry two years ago and appealed to the people of the city to help locate the missing aircraft.

The search will not be helped by the fact that the crash happened almost 70 years ago and therefore living witnesses to the incident have become increasingly rare.