Protecting airfield is about 'protecting heritage'

Protecting the hangars on an historic airfield after one was gutted by a huge fire is a matter of safeguarding "our national heritage," according to the proprietor of a collection of vintage aircraft.

The blaze destroyed the Grade II*-listed hangar three and the neighbouring cafe at Old Sarum Airfield in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on the evening of 17 April.

John Sharpe, of the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, said his first response to the news was "absolute panic" followed by sadness at the loss of people's livelihoods.

The collection is housed in a neighbouring hangar, but he warned all of the buildings are of the same World War One-era design and could be vulnerable to fire.

Speaking to BBC West, Mr Sharpe said: "My immediate reaction was absolute panic.

"(Colleagues) calmed my down by saying its hanger three, so I suppose my reaction was considerable relief, but then also a certain amount of sadness - people's livelihoods were going up in smoke."

He continued: "They are old buildings, we all know the problems with them, but also the number left in the UK now are reduced by another pair and that's really sad."

"It's really concerning because the building that we occupy is exactly the same as the one that went up in flames."

Mr Sharpe said he and colleagues are now debating whether or not the fire safety systems are sufficient to protect the collection.

"(We have) a lot of aircraft that are one-offs and if they go they can't be replaced, it's as simple as that.

"We have to do what ever we can to protect what is effectively our national heritage."

Gordon Blamire, founder of Go Skydive, which has the site adjacent to Hangar three and the cafe, was driving back from Heathrow Airport when he heard the news of the fire.

He said his initial feeling was one of "helplessness".

"I got here just as the last of the fire was burning," he said.

"We just went straight into 'how do we resolve things' - no one was hurt and that's a great starting place."

Some of Mr Blamire's staff were still on-site when the fire broke out and were able to rescue some of the parachutes.

Mr Blamire said the business was fortunate because "we are in a place where we've got aircraft and we've got parachutes and we are in a position to carry on operating".

"Resilience is a key part of this business, we are going to rebuild and will be open again by Friday," he said.

The fire broke out just a week after developers - Old Sarum Airfield Ltd - were given the go-ahead for up to 315 homes to be built there following a battle for permission.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has said its investigations "are likely to carry on well into next week".

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