THE lure of bacon butties and home-made soup has prompted pilots to name a tiny North-East airfield as the best in the country.

Flyer Magazine ran a competition in which pilots were asked to nominate the airfield they most liked to visit.

And the warm, welcoming atmosphere at Fishburn Airfield, in County Durham, has earned it the magazine's Airfield of the Year title.

The business was started as a farm diversification project in 1992 by John and Beryl Morgan. In those days, the airfield consisted of only a caravan and a couple of aircraft, but what began as a sideline has developed into a thriving business.

Mrs Morgan, 65, said pilots who wrote in commented on the friendly environment at the airfield.

She said: "It was a total surprise to me and I was gobsmacked when they rang up and said we'd won it, because there are hundreds of airfields.

"I think southerners like coming up here because it is the friendly North. For many, it is the first time they've been to this part of the world and they obviously love it, because they keep coming back."

Several flyers mentioned the home cooking as a big draw, with Mrs Morgan's bacon sandwiches earning special praise.

Phil Tait, 43, from Carlton, near Stockton, said: "I'd given up eating bacon until I'd sampled Beryl's.

"They are just something else."

Mr Tait, who has a hangar at the airfield and is finishing building his own aeroplane, said the social side of flying was very important.

He said: "John and Beryl make everybody feel welcome and it's very hospitable."

Nick Lyons, 53, of Hartburn, near Stockton, joined fellow pilots David Wheldon and Richard Pybus, in North Weald, Essex, to see Mr and Mrs Morgan get presented with their award.

He said: "It's a very friendly airfield and it's very good to see that John and Beryl are prepared to invest in something which serves the aviation needs of the area."

Mrs Morgan thanked the pilots for the help and advice they had given the business over the years and Sedgefield Borough Council for allowing them to develop and expand the airfield.