Rolls Royce donates £1m towards permanent Concorde home at Filton

Concorde 216 - or Alpha Foxtrot - was the last of the fleet to fly when Concorde was withdrawn from service

British aerospace company Rolls Royce has donated £1m to help pay for a permanent home for Concorde at Filton near Bristol.

The Bristol Aero Collection Trust is in the process of raising £13m to build an aviation museum at Filton Airfield, which closed last year.

The centre will house the last of the fleet to fly, Concorde 216, which is currently parked at Filton.

Rolls Royce built engines for the Concorde fleet in its heyday.

A £2m proposal by the Save Concorde Group to house the aircraft was rejected by British Airways last year.

Shortly after the scheme was turned down, it selected the Bristol Aero Collection Trust to take over the Concorde lease.

Including the donation from Rolls Royce, the Bristol Aero Collection Trust fund has reached £4m in pledges.

BAE Systems and Airbus have also pledged donations to the scheme.

A Rolls Royce spokesman said the firm was "delighted" to contribute towards the proposed Bristol Aerospace Centre "becoming a reality".

Lloyd Burnell, of the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, said: "As well as celebrating over 100 years of Bristol's exceptional aviation heritage, this project will be an inspiration to the next generation of scientists and engineers."