A lost squadron of Spitfires buried in Burma after the Second World War could fly over Britain within three years, the enthusiast seeking to restore the planes said yesterday.

Digging for the hoard of at least 36 Mark XIV fighters will begin in January at a remote airfield.

Return to the skies ... project leader David Cundall. Credit:AFP

Should the archaeologists succeed, a number of the aircraft will be carefully packaged and brought home next spring, where they will be restored.The discovery could more than double the number of Spitfires flying.

More than 20,000 were built in the 1930s and 1940s but only around 35 remain in the skies.