HUNDREDS of excited onlookers lined the streets of Banbury as the town remembered the Battle of Britain.

A Spitfire fighter plane made three swooping low-level flights over the town on Sunday as a military and civic parade made its way through the centre.

The battle was fought over southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940, with the RAF's defeat of the Luftwaffe a major factor preventing Hitler from invading England.

The iconic status of the Spitfire today is largely due to the battle.

Sunday's commemoration saw scores march along High Street, round The Cross into Horsefair and then to St Mary's Church for a memorial service.

Town council leader Kieron Mallon said: "Today was a magnificent tribute to those who fought in the Battle of Britain.

"Seeing a Spitfire is a quite moving experience and we should not forget the part the planes played in defeating Hitler’s forces".

Banbury's former aluminium factory supplied metal used in the manufacture of aircraft for the RAF, including Spitfires and Lancaster bombers.

The town was also at the centre of a number of wartime airfields including RAF Heyford, Barford St John, Shenington, Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Enstone, Greatworth, Finmere, Turweston, Silverstone, Chipping Warden, Croughton and Gaydon.