How aircraft fan's garden spitfire drew crowds

It took David Price four years to build the replica in his garden

During the coronavirus pandemic, when there was little to keep people entertained, David Price gave his village on the outskirts of Carlisle plenty to talk about.

A marquee appeared in his garden, with the lights often on late at night. But there were no illegal parties going on in the house he shares with his wife Trish.

He was in fact building a replica Spitfire, in the middle of his lawn - and word got out fast.

When the tail started poking out of the end of the structure, he had to place a stepladder next to the garden's hedge, so he could talk to people who had made the trip especially to see his masterpiece.

"Don't let common sense spoil a good idea - it was really that lack of common sense which sealed me into doing this for four years," he jokes.

When he gave up his building business in 2018, he was busy writing aviation books, but he was keen to find something to do with his hands.

It was a trip to the Battle of Britain memorial in Folkestone, Kent, that inspired him to build the aircraft.

"They have a replica Spitfire standing by the cliff and I stood next to it and thought 'this would fit in my garden'."

When the tail of the Spitfire started poking out of the marquee, Mr Price could no longer avoid questions from neighbours

Mr Price, 62, from Cotehill, has a lifelong love of aircrafts and thought his experience in the building industry would help.

"It's built out of wood underneath and then it's fibreglass on top - the core skills were sort of hovering somewhere in the background," he says.

As the plane was taking shape, it was also taking over more and more of his small garden.

"One summer we actually put the barbecue stuff out on the wing as a table," he says.

"It just sort of engulfed the whole side of the house."

The Spitfire is pride of place in Mr Price's garden

Once the lockdowns were over the tent disappeared and the Spitfire took pride of place in Mr Price's garden, attracting hundreds of visitors, Mr Price says, which at times was "bizarre".

He says: "We had people driving long distances to come and see it, it was nice, but sometimes a bit of a strain because, maybe you were going out and trying to get into the car and suddenly this party of people would turn up and they'd want to go and look at it and well, you know, that's what it was there for."

When Storm Dudley hit in 2022, it damaged the beloved aircraft and Mr Price said it dawned on him it had to be moved.

As a volunteer at the Solway Aviation Museum, based at Carlisle airport, for more than 30 years, Mr Price says he knew how unaffordable a real Spitfire was for independent museums - about £2m just for the aircraft, before moving costs.

David Price was looking for something manual to do when he decided to build a Spitfire

"Part of me in the background was thinking it'd be nice to do something that will end up in a museum, that people can see and touch," he says.

The Spitfire was moved to the Hooton Park Trust in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in 2023, where it can be enjoyed by visitors.

"It's fully covered and safe from the elements and really where it should be where people can and see it without having to knock on my door and look in my garden," Mr Price says.

With a passion for aviation literature, he decided to write about his experience in a book titled How to Build a Spitfire, published last month.

He is also using his expertise to help rebuild the Blackburn Beverley, the last surviving example of the RAF's largest transport plane.

"That's going to keep me busy for some time to come - there's a lot of painting to do," he says.

As for his garden, its days as a visitor attraction may not be over yet, he teases.

"I've got some ideas, I can't really say - my wife and I have talked about it and there is a chance something will appear in the garden in future."