AN RAF pilot based near York is featuring in a Channel Four documentary series that starts on Monday night.

Spitfire Ace tells the story of the Second World War RAF pilots who defeated the Luftwaffe to win the Battle of Britain.

It also takes four young pilots from diverse backgrounds to see if they have what it takes to emulate their predecessors.

One of the pilots is flying officer John Sweet, 20, a student pilot at RAF Linton on Ouse, North Yorkshire. He spent three hours in a Tiger Moth before being chosen to fly in the Spitfire alongside private pilot Dave Mallon, from Manchester.

FO Sweet said: "Being in the Spitfire was very different to what we are used to and there was not a lot of creature comforts.

"We make up about a quarter of the programme and the rest of it is interviews with witnesses and veterans of the Battle of Britain.

"They put the modern day pilots through the same kind of training to see whether or not we could cope and I think we did."

He will be interviewed live on Channel Five at 11am on Monday before the four-part series starts, on Channel Four at 9pm.