Battle of Britain Memorial up for tourism award

The memorial on the Kent coast is nominated for a VisitEngland excellence award

The Battle of Britain Memorial has been named as one the country's top three tourist attractions.

The clifftop tribute to the Few at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone, has been nominated for a VisitEngland award for excellence.

The memorial was unveiled by the Queen Mother in 1993 in dedication to the men who fought the battle in the skies over Kent in 1940.

Its chairman Richard Hunting CBE said the nomination is a "great tribute to the hard work and support of everyone involved”.

The attraction includes a visitor centre, replica aircraft and the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall, named in tribute to the late Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Foxley-Norris who was the memorial trust's first president.

The wall lists the names of all the aircrew known to have flown with a recognised squadron during the Battle of Britain.

The memorial has already won gold in the small visitor attraction of the year category in the Beautiful South Awards.

It was one of 300 local winners from across the south of England to go forward to the national finals and has now been shortlisted as one of the three finalists in VisitEngland's small visitor attractions category.

Mr Hunting said: "We were delighted to win the Beautiful South award.

"To now be named as one of the top three small visitor attractions nationwide is a great tribute to the hard work and support of everyone involved.”

The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence will be announced at a ceremony in Liverpool in June.