A pioneering pilot who was killed when her plane crashed off Herne Bay during the Second World War is to be remembered in a life-size bronze statue.

Flying star Amy Johnson was 37 when she crashed off the Kent coast in 1941 after taking off from Blackpool.

Now almost 75 years on since the fatal flight, volunteers from the Canterbury Divers group are trying to find the wreckage of her plane before the statue is unveiled on Herne Bay seafront next summer.

Former law courts administrator Jane Priston is behind the commemorative project which she hopes will raise Johnson's profile.

Jane, who became inspired after reading a biography of Johnson, needs to raise £25,000 to fund the statue and is calling on the people of Herne Bay to donate.

She said: "Amy was such a pioneer of her generation. I am drawn into her story personally and I think she is a great role model.

"When I first read the book eight years ago I was fascinated by her story but couldn't believe there was nothing down here in Herne Bay."

Volunteers from Canterbury Divers are now searching the sea for wreckage 12 miles from the Herne Bay coast.

Johnson's Airspeed Oxford plane disappeared on January 5, 1941.

Her body was never found and - as she was way off course when she vanished off Kent - theories range from her running out of fuel after getting lost to her being on a secret mission.

Johnson, who will also have a statue unveiled in Hull, was the first woman to fly solo the 11,000 miles from England to Australia.