THE last RAF aircraft to be serviced at MoD St Athan departed from the base last week.

The flight marked the end of more than 70 years of aircraft maintenance at the former RAF base.

At 3.30pm last Thursday (February 23) the last VC10 flew out after maintenance work on it had been completed.

The ZA147 aircraft will now be based at RAF Brize Norton and will be in use with 101 Squadron.

The last flight came after the announcement two years ago that the ageing VC10 was to be phased out, leaving workers from the Large Aircraft Business Unit, which is operated by the Defence Support Group (DSG), facing redundancy.

A crowd of aviation enthusiasts went along to see the final flight.

Among them was Lee Roger, of Oxford Street, who said he was sad to see the end of servicing and maintenance on RAF aircraft at St Athan.

"I remember coming here in the 1950s and seeing the Hawk jets," he said.

"I came down on my pedal bike after they delivered them from the factory."

VC10s have been serviced at the site for nearly 20 years and the Defence Support Group closure has meant the loss of more than 300 jobs.

Vale MP Alun Cairns said: "I was very sorry when the decision was made by the previous government to retire the VC10 aircraft.

"However, I was pleased that the maintenance contract was extended on several occasions over recent years, with remaining staff able to continue working on the aircraft until this time.

"We now need to capitalise on the skills of the staff who have worked on this aircraft, and make sure that we retain these skills and expert knowledge base within our community."

He added: "The Welsh Government needs to act quickly to make sure the aerospace park becomes a reality as part of their Enterprise Zone scheme. "I’m in touch with the MOD regarding the plans for the super-hangar and am optimistic about the outcome."

Vale Assembly Member Jane Hutt said: "It is a sad day for the highly skilled DSG workforce, which has been responsible for maintaining and repairing the VC10s at St Athan.

"Since the phased redundancies began in 2010, I have been calling for the MoD to work closely with the Welsh Government to open up opportunities for employment and to ensure that a fair compensation deal for the workforce is secured." She added: "I am pleased the Welsh Government has recently given St Athan Enterprise Zone status and is keen to develop an Aerospace Business Park to create jobs and utilise the airfield and skills base in the area."

Classic aircraft company Hunter Flying Ltd recently took a ten-year lease on two hangars at the St Athan Aerospace Business Park Hunter Flying, which oversees the maintenance and operation of the largest private collection of classic aircraft of its kind in the world, restores and operates ex-military aircraft for airshows, jet training for pilots and leisure flying.