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Army engineers are taking on a new mission in Lincolnshire to dig a £40 million Apache helicopter out of a field.

Aviation enthusiasts have been having a field day with the rare sight ever since a problem with the hydraulics forced the crew to land on Saturday, February 8.

The multi-million pound pride of the army, armed with hellfire missiles and a 30mm chain gun, was on its way back from a training flight on the Scottish border.

It was grounded in a farmer’s field in Helpringham near Sleaford, giving farmers and locals a sight usually restricted to air shows.

The farmer has since been helping the crew to “improvise a solution and diagnose the faults.”

Army Corps has tweeted that getting the Apache out of a damp field requires some engineering ingenuity and “some work with a spade.”

They added: “Rigging an aircraft for a road move on unstable ground is not easy. It has to be stripped to fit on a specialist trailer and then winched onto mats.

“It should be on its way home soon and the farmer can have the field back!”

The Army tweeted on Sunday: “If you happen to see an Apache parked in a field in Lincolnshire, don’t worry!

“Due to a technical issue, the crew made a precautionary landing in a field.

“Our engineers are looking at it now. They may have to weather out the storm though before it comes home!”