BBC Repair Shop helps restore replica plane bench

A public bench in the shape of an aircraft has been restored with help from the BBC repair shop show, after an appeal by the British legion.

Will Kirk and Dom Chinea helped the team at Renew Swindon, an organisation who help combat poor mental health and loneliness through practical activities, to repair the 12-year-old replica Barracuda bench.

The seating, which has now returned to its home at Wroughton's Willow-Brook Gardens, will appear on BBC One's new series Repair Shop on the Road.

Kevin Prosser, Renew's shed manager, said it was a "privilege" to restore the seat which was "a mess".

The Barracuda aircraft was a naval torpedo bomber and they were once maintained at nearby RAF Wroughton.

"The bench was rotten and it was falling apart. It had rotted where the fixings were on the wings," he said.

"When we came to repair it, some of the parts had to be cut away and we had to introduce new pieces of wood into it," he added.

Mr Prosser said the restoration, which took about eight weeks, was a "challenge" and the Renew team "learnt a lot of new skills" through the process.

Amanda Woodhead from Wroughton Parish Council said it was the British Legion that contacted the BBC.

"We had a very sorry bench sitting rotting in one of our allotment sites. We didn't know what to do with it," she added.

Encouraging people to come see the bench, Ms Woodhead said: "We have things very specific to Wroughton that you can come and have a look at".

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