A replica of a Battle of Britain aircraft safely touched down at its new home.

The Boulton Paul Defiant arrived at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum in Hawkinge at about 2.45pm today.

When the plane was found to be too wide to go through the museum’s gateway it was lifted by a crane and placed back on its lorry on the other side.

It had been transported on two lorries, the main fuselage on one and the wing tips on another to cut the width of the load.

The warplane came 240 miles from its original home in RAF Cosford in Shropshire.

It had taken the slow 40mph journey at first light as a load stretching across 18ft 6in, the width of two carriageways.

The Defiant had been driven down the M40, M25, M26 and M20 before reaching the A20, going through Folkestone’s Round Hill Tunnel.

The convoy also included a wide load escort vehicle and a minibus full of museum volunteers from Cosford.

The replica was built by the Boulton Paul Association, by former employees, at their old factory at Wolverhampton over many years.

It is estimated that it took over 50,000 man hours to build, using many original parts.

The RAF Museum had eventually acquired the replica after the Boulton Paul Heritage Museum had to disband in March 2013.

Dave Brocklehurst MBE, chairman, historian and volunteer of the Kent Battle of Britain Museum Trust, had wanted to display a Defiant at the museum since he joined as a 10-year-old volunteer more than 35 years ago.

There is, though, only one original in existence, displayed at the RAF Museum in Hendon.

The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft, designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a turret fighter without any forward-firing guns.

The plane was found to be effective as a bomber-destroyer but vulnerable to the Luftwaffe’s more agile Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters.

Its lack of forward armament was a major weakness in daylight combat but it proved to be far more help in night fighting.