OWNERS of a symbol of Second World War history laid up after an oil leak last week say repair work is progressing at a 'steady pace' – but more engagements have had to be cancelled.

The Mynarski Memorial Lancaster has been in a hangar at Durham Tees Valley Airport, near Darlington, since Friday (August 29), after developing the fault as it returned from a 30-minute demonstration flight.

Just a day earlier, it had entertained hundreds of veterans in a nostalgic flypast event at the airport.

Engineers are fitting a new engine to replace the one that suffered an oil leak, causing plumes of white smoke to escape.

The aircraft, which is on a two-month tour of the UK, is owned by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.

It was withdrawn from a series of events over the weekend, with its owners confirming that it will also miss an engagement in Lincolnshire on Tuesday (September 2).

The museum posted the following message on its website on Tuesday: "We are completing the final fittings on the new engine today, along with the team from Retro.

"Additional parts from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight are arriving from Coningsby today, then the engine will be hung.

"If all is good, an engine test run will be performed.

"After successfully testing the engine, a test flight will be conducted and then onto Coningsby."

The Lancaster is named after Canadian war hero Andrew Mynarski, who flew missions from the airport during the war, when it was known as RAF Goosepool.

He was posthumously awarded the VC after trying to save his comrade after they were shot down over France.

The museum has also used social media to thank people for their support, including Friends of Durham Tees Valley Airport, whose members gave their time to help with the repairs over the weekend.

David Thompson, of the Cleveland Aviation Society has helped with the repair effort and supplied pictures of the ongoing work.