A beloved Red Arrows plane has been stripped away from the former base of the Dambusters, which is now designated as a site to home asylum seekers.
The Hawk T1 Red Arrow jet had been used as a “gate guard” at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire since its retirement in 2012, after 32 years of service, until the station’s closure last year.
The former home of the Dambusters is being transformed into a camp for 1,700 asylum seekers under Home Office proposals which are being fiercely opposed by thousands of local people, the Telegraph reports.
West Lindsey district council has also started legal action against the plans.
The historic aircraft is now going to be dismantled and sold at auction without its engine.
Read more: Asylum centre on Red Arrows base risks ruining £300m project
The plane has been listed on auction site GPSV, which sells ex-military hardware, until April 28 with a current bid of £51,000, in which it has been described as the “Scampton Gate Guardian”.
The Red Arrow had tallied 7,378 hours of air time, landing a grand total of 13,007 times.
It was disassembled and can now be found at the auction firm’s Leyburn facility.
This comes as local concerns were growing that the historic base was being dismantled before the migrant camp is approved.
The 617 squadron, better known as the Dambusters, were based at RAF Scampton.
The Home Office has targeted numerous sites in attempts to decrease the £6 million daily cost of housing 51,000 asylum seekers in almost 400 hotels.
West Lindsey district council will attempt to derail the plan by designating RAF Scampton an “opportunity area”, with councillors attempting to prevent a £300 million deal to safeguard the base as a national heritage site and aviation hub.
