Lancaster bomber sculpture set to be taller than Angel of the North nearly finished as group behind project plead for public support

It’s been funded entirely by donations, but the Bomber County Gateway Trust, who are the group behind the project, say increases in the cost of steel, and the cost of things like insurance, means they still need tens of thousands of pounds to be able to reveal the project in the Autumn.

Chairman of the charity, Charlie White, told GB News: “It's spine tingling all the time, you know, just to say that every day we're a day closer to finishing the project.

“We didn't quite think at one stage we were going to get to this point, but we have we've been very lucky with the public donations and private money that have come in to help build it.

“We think we need about £30,000 to finish the project. We've got to buy some more of the steel and we've got to pay for the company, Timmins Engineering, who are helping build the project, and then we've got to get haulage in, cranes, insurance and other things we just haven't quite got the money for.

“Hopefully, with help like this, we can get some donations and we can cross the finish line!”

GB News last saw the progress of the sculpture back in September 2024 when it was just some steel beams, but now thanks to hundreds of hours of work from Timmins Engineering, the bomber is starting to take shape.

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When it’s finished, the whole model will total 100 tonnes in weight and sit beside the A46 between Newark and Lincoln on the Lincolnshire border.

It will be placed on huge steel beams to make it look like it’s flying to passersby as they drive into what became known as ‘Bomber County’, after the huge amount of RAF Bomber Command airfields and squadrons based in the area during WW2.

Sheets of steel wrap around the fuselage section of the plane which Design Manager, Luke Handford, says weighs 20 tonnes alone.

Explaining why he wanted to be part of the project, he said: “I'm Lincolnshire, born and bred, we're a big county, but we're not very well recognised.

“It's nice to be able to have something which puts us on the map, and it's great recognition for those that have served in the in the military during war and beyond.

“It’s nice to give something back.”

To help finish the project, you can donate here.