THE grave of a Battle of Britain hero which had become overgrown has been given a spring clean by a Northern Echo reader.

Earlier this week, the Echo revealed the state of the grave of Flying Officer Oswald St John “Ossie” Pigg, who died after his Spitfire was shot down by a Nazi Messerschmitt over Kent in September 1940.

Hidden in an offshoot of St Oswald’s Church graveyard, in Durham City, the 22-year-old’s final resting place was left unkempt.

But, after reading the story, Ivor Errington, an RAF veteran from Darlington, decided to do something about it.

So today (Friday, May 31), he drove to Durham with his garden tools and tided up the grave.

Afterwards, the 69-year-old said: “I thought it was a shame his grave was left unattended so I thought I would go and do a bit of work on it.

“It looks much better now. It looks lovely.”

Mr Errington, who spent 17 years working in RAF telecommunications serving in Cyprus, Northern Ireland and elsewhere, completed the job in 30 minutes.

Following the appeal, several Northern Echo readers have come forward with information about FO Pigg’s life and death.

He was born in Jarrow, attended the Royal Grammar School, in Newcastle, and joined the RAF in March 1937.

In June 1940, he shot down a German dive bomber over Dunkirk before crash landing at Gravesend. That August, he shot down a Messerschmitt.

It is thought his father, Rev John Pigg, who was primarily based in Northumberland, was also a prison chaplain in Durham.

One reader recalls seeing FO Pigg flying a tiger moth aircraft over Durham as a child. His brother, Alan Pigg, was prominent in the Scout movement, founding the 3rd Durham Scout Troop and hosting its early meetings in his home on Western Hill.

The location of FO Pigg’s grave was highlighted by Pat Woodward, an 87-year-old former RAF pilot from Durham City, after he read about a memorial plaque being unveiled where he died, at Elvey Farm, near Ashford.