Although the history of this particular plane is sketchy, Mr Lander knows it crashed in 1994 and has been left to rot away.

He now plans to do his best to restore the aircraft, a Harrier GR3 trainer, which is one of the last of its type.

"I was quite surprised to find the plane for the price I paid for it," explained Mr Lander. "Some of the Sea Harriers are much more expensive, closer to £8,000.

"I've managed to buy some parts on eBay, but in general, Harrier parts are quite hard to come by."

Mr Lander, 35, confessed to being an aircraft enthusiast since his days in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, which he retired from four years ago.

Although he now works for Airbus in Bristol, he grew up in Newmarket and still has a sister, Cathy, and mother, Lorraine, who both live in Selwyn Close.

"We all took the mickey out of him when he told us he had bought a Harrier," said Cathy.

"But now that I've have seen the plane, I think it's fantastic.

"I remember Daniel used to run outside when he was a boy with binoculars and he would watch the planes fly over.

"He would be able to tell which plane it was. Now he has the ultimate Airfix model."

Although it appears the plane will never fly again, Mr Lander hopes to restore the Harrier to something like its former glory.

As a potential museum piece, it has received sponsorship from Norwich Air Museum, which has a special interest in aircraft from Norfolk and will part-fund the restoration.

"The museum has about 15 aircraft on show to the public and I hope to do enough work on the Harrier so it will become a museum piece," he said.

"I'd like to put the engine vents on behind the pilot's cockpit and the four directional nozzles because it looks a bit odd without them."

The directional nozzles or "thrust vector nozzles" are the secret of the plane's vertical take off and landing (VTOL) capability.

The design dates back to the 1950s when British aircraft manufacturers Hawker Siddeley were developing a revolutionary aircraft for ground attacks.

Britain used the aircraft to devastating effect in the Falklands War when the planes operated from "ski ramps" on aircraft carriers to bomb Argentinian targets, gaining fierce notoriety in the process.

Harriers are still used by air forces across the world and are much loved by crowds at air shows because the plane is the only one of its type capable of "bowing" to the crowds and flying backwards.

It will be replaced in 2015 by the F35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, a stealth aircraft developed by British Aerospace and American manufacturers Boeing.

Despite this, Mr Lander knows he has just bought himself a fantastic bit of history.

"It's a real relic." he said.