A WEATHER vane which points to the war-time history of a York shopping park has been saved from the scrap heap after finding a new home.

Motorists entering Rawcliffe on the A19 will soon be greeted by a weather vane made from an old aircraft propeller, featuring three aeroplanes in flight within a cloud.

The sculpture had previously adorned the walkway at Tesco's in Clifton Moor as a reminder of the shopping park's previous life as an airfield.

During the Second World War the site was known as RAF Clifton, and became host to reconnaissance aircraft such as the Westland Lysander and North American Mustang.

The compass points on the vane have been designed to reflect a 'Teardrop Turret', symbolising the sadness of war.

However the vane was taken down as part the recent £19 million development to extend the shopping park.

Upon hearing of the relic's removal Rawcliffe Parish Council stepped in to find another use for it, and came up with the idea of a new welcome feature for Rawcliffe.

The installation has been mainly funded, designed and built by British Land, owners of part of Clifton Moor Shopping Park, and local companies including Lindum York, Fox Lloyd Jones, Savills and NW Maintenance.

Parish Councillor Alan Dawes, who has coordinated the project on behalf of the Rawcliffe Parish Council, said: "When we learned that the weather vane was going to be removed from Tesco, we asked if we could use it.

"What started off as a discussion about how it might be cleaned and restored soon became a plan to design and create a proper welcome feature for the village.

"In addition to funding, the British Land Team and the local companies also designed and provided the labour and materials to build a lasting and historical local identity. On behalf of Rawcliffe residents, the Parish Council expresses its sincere thanks and gratitude for such a generous gift to our community."

Mr Dawes said the feature is not only a tribute to all those that served at the ‘Airfield’ but it is also a "fitting dedication" to long serving Parish Council chairman, Bob Eccles who passed away in 2013.

Speaking on behalf of all the contributors, Denis Copeland, manager of Clifton Moor Shopping Park, said: "We felt that this was a very fitting project following on from the recent very successful extension of the Park, and are very pleased that it has been so well received within Rawcliffe and beyond."

The feature will be formally unveiled later in the Spring.