FOR most boys, a flash car or a fast motorbike is the ultimate toy - but for one lucky North man, a dangerous aircraft and a steam engine are top of his play list.

David Lee, of Leyburn, North Yorkshire, spends his spare time taking children for pleasure rides on a miniature steam engine, run voluntarily by enthusiasts at Leeming Bar.

His current pastime is a stark, if charming contrast to the dangerous bomber missions he undertook as a young pilot in the Royal Air Force.

On leaving school, at 18, Mr Lee had dreams of becoming either a pilot or a doctor - and the final decision for which career he would pursue was made when two letters to him arrived in the mail on the same day.

"One was an acceptance to read medicine at university, and the other was from the RAF offering a cadetship at college.

"The college would pay me immediately, whereas I would have to be a poor student for years at university - so the choice was easy," he said.

Mr Lee certainly has no regrets about the 42 years he subsequently spent as a pilot.

His most challenging years were spent in the "V-force", flying Vulcan and Valiant bombers - jet bombers that were at the heart of Britain's nuclear force during the post-war years.

His missions, which took him around the world a number of times, were all for training purposes.

"We would fly the planes and test their capabilities on bombing ranges in Africa, America and Europe," he said.

Later, Mr Lee became a flying instructor for Bristol University Air Training Squadron, and examined trainee instructors at the RAF's North Yorkshire bases, at Leeming and Church Fenton.

In 1998, at the age of 61, Mr Lee retired from flying and settled with his wife in Leyburn.

Each day, he would watch from the bottom of his garden as Wensleydale Railway Association's miniature steam engine, Pilgrim, passed by.

With a long-standing interest in trains, as well as planes, he offered to drive the steam engine in his spare time and now enjoys his somewhat more tranquil journeys across the North Yorkshire countryside.

"I do like driving the train one or two days a week," he said. "It's just another big toy for a big boy!