AN ICONIC British jet bomber from the Cold War period has had full cosmetic restoration.

The work on the Handley Page Victor XL231, which is on display at the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington, has been completed half a century on from the maiden flight by a Victor on December 24, 1952.

Victor XL231 was bought from the RAF by Yorkshire businessman Andre Tempest in November 1993, when the Victor fleet was being disbanded.

He said: “I had always admired the Victor, and when the opportunity arose to tender for one I jumped at the chance. As I stood on the end of the runway at RAF Elvington watching as she made her final flight, I thought: ‘What the hell have I let myself in for?’, but almost 20 years on I'm incredibly proud of what I and a small team of volunteers have achieved.”