King Charles tours Lincolnshire on first visit to county as monarch

King Charles has delighted crowds in Lincolnshire during his first visit to the county as monarch.

The King met personnel at RAF Coningsby during a tour marking the 80th anniversary year of the Dambusters raid on Germany in May 1943.

He also visited the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) hangar at Coningsby, where he enjoyed tea and cake with World War Two veterans.

Around 300 people lined the RAF station's fence hoping to see the King.

The Dambusters raid, officially known as Operation Chastise, was launched from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on May 16-17 1943.

Equipped with bouncing bombs designed to skim along the surface of the water, their targets were three giant dams in the Ruhr region, where Germany's steel and armaments industries were based.

The Möhne and the Eder dams were both successfully breached. The Sorpe dam was damaged but not destroyed.

A total of 53 airmen were killed in the famous mission, with the crews' bravery immortalised in the 1955 film The Dam Busters.

During his visit to RAF Coningsby, King Charles signed the visitors' book and was photographed in front of the BBMF's Lancaster bomber.

He went on to meet personnel from 29 Squadron, responsible for protecting UK airspace, and inspected the squadron's Typhoon jets.

During his tour of the county, the King also visited Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese at Ulceby Grange Farm, near Alford.

Simon Jones, who began making cheese there in the 1990s, told BBC Radio Lincolnshire the King was very interested in the fact the business had a new robot which turned the cheese during its manufacture.

"He saw the robot, Florence, and he was suitably impressed," Mr Jones said.

"He loves cheese and he understands that the land and the grazing goes to the flavour of making the cheese and the milk."

Meanwhile, on the Lincolnshire coast, King Charles met survivors of the devastating 1953 floods.

He was also greeted by representatives from Lincolnshire County Council, the Environment Agency, the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust at the Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve.

Councillor Colin Davie, executive member for environment and economy at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "It has been a pleasure to welcome His Majesty to Lincolnshire for his first visit to the county as King."

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