A FORMER RAF jet has returned to a Suffolk airfield for restoration work to begin, 20 years after it last took off from the base.

The Phantom XT914 was one of the last RAF planes to fly from Wattisham Airfield, before the station was handed over to the Army in 1993.

Under the cover of darkness, the jet returned to its home base last week for refurbishment work to begin before it goes on display at Wattisham Heritage Centre.

The aircraft had stood as a gate guardian at RAF Brampton, Cambridgeshire, but with the station closing in 2013, the Phantom needed a new home.

Wattisham troops lifted the aircraft into a Cold War-era shelter.

Maggie Aggiss, chairman of the heritage group, said: “I would like to thank all who have worked so hard to get XT914 back to Wattisham. It made a very dramatic return and it was almost surreal to see the aircraft back almost 20 years to the day that it left.

“There is a lot of hard work ahead to refurbish the aircraft, the aim being to return it to the special livery it wore when it flew out of Wattisham for the last time.”

Squadron leader Paul Tuite, from RAF Brampton Wyton Henlow, said: “The Phantom has been a focal point for both RAF Brampton personnel and the local community. Its departure really does mark the start of the closure.”

Wattisham’s 74 (Tiger) and 56 (Firebirds) Squadrons had been the last units to operate the Phantom. It was saved from the scrapyard to stand as a gate guardian – firstly at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire.

Wattisham Heritage Museum will re-open on April 8 and then on the first Sunday of the month until October 7. To make an appointment visit www.wattishamairfield museum.org