The propeller blade of a German Dornier DO 17 bomber that plummeted to the sea during the Battle of Britain has been discovered by a pub landlord while diving off Deal.

Ian Goodban, of the Deal Hoy in Duke Street, recovered the relic on his first dive of the year on Friday.

And he has since been able to trace the names of the airmen inside the doomed plane and three are buried in Hamilton Road Cemetery.

He said: “It’s in pretty good condition. It’s pitted but there’s still traces of the original paint, but it’s been in the water for 74 years.”

The Dornier DO 17 was nicknamed the Flying Pencil.

The blade was not part of the plane that was resurrected from the seabed off Sandown Castle last summer.

The day after retrieving it from the seabed, Mr Goodban took it to the Battle of Britain museum in Hawkinge where experts told him the origins of the blade.

“They confirmed straight away that it was German because I didn’t know what nationality it was," he said.

For the full story and details of the crew, see Thursday's Mercury. To find out about the Battle of Britain Museum, click here: http://www.kbobm.org/