FOUR decades ago, the local authorities surrounding RAF Middleton St George bought the airfield and its acres of land for the princely sum of £340,000.

In today's spiraling property market, where a four-bedroom house in Darlington's West End costs just as much, it was a bargain councillors of the day could not resist.

The authorities recognised the airbase's potential as a civil airport and, after seven months of talks with the Ministry of Defence, Teesside Airport was born.

Fast forward 40 years and Teesside International Airport - soon to be christened Durham Tees Valley - is a thriving business with a planned £20m investment on the cards to bring it into the 21st Century.

Touted as the modern airport with a history, it first came into operation on April 18, 1964, only a day after the Royal Air Force departed.

The airport was built on land known locally for generations as Goosepool. During the 1940s, construction workers worked around the clock to build an airfield for use during the war, as they did at hundreds of locations throughout the country, and in 1941 RAF Middleton St George was born. It soon became home to No 78 (Bomber) squadron and subsequently No 76 (Bomber) Squadron.

As the war progressed, squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force, in particular Nos 419, 420 and 428, were based at Middleton St George and veterans continue to visit the airport to the present day to reminisce about their time there. Over the years there have been numerous sightings of ghosts, believed to be former airmen, who haunt the modern day airfield.

One of the base's most heroic fighters was Andy Mynarski, a courageous pilot officer, who, on June 12 1944, flew a Lancaster bomber from Middleton St George. After coming under attack from enemy forces, the 27-year-old tried to free the rear gunner of the plane and, in an act of self-sacrifice, he lost his life. Two years later, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross - the last VC to be awarded to an airman of the Second World War.

Out of all the airbases to be constructed during the war, Teesside was the only one re-created as a civil airport.

In the years between the end of the war and the beginning of its civil history, the RAF developed the site to include the Advance Flying Training School, where former cabinet minister Norman Tebbitt learned to fly.

By 1957, the Ministry of Defence began updating the airbase and it soon housed Mach squadron of Lightnings, which were capable of speeds twice the sound of speed.

After it was sold to the local authorities and opened in 1964, £1.35m was spent on building a passenger terminal, car parking facilities and accommodation.

The first flight from Teesside, operated by Mercury Airlines, was to Manchester. Now, the airport flies to popular holiday destinations across Europe and has daily flights to Heathrow.

Despite being hit by the recession in the 1980s, the airport bounced back and, in 1987, it was privatised.

Further investment over the years has seen the arrival of an international departures lounge, dedicated passenger lounges and a £7m terminal extension. By 1997, half a million passengers were going through the airport doors.

Big name airlines Ryanair and bmibaby also came on board to offer a wide range of flights.

The airport was firmly put on the international map when the world's most powerful man flew into the region in November last year.

George Bush, on a presidential visit to the area, had nothing but praise for the assured handling of his arrival at the airport.

The changing face of aviation, with the boom in budget flights allowing air travel to become even more accessible, Teesside Airport is to undergo another overhaul with an multi-million investment from Peel Airports.

*Read about what the next 40 years holds for the airport in tomorrow's Northern Echo.