THE Spitfire is the aircraft that wrote its name into history during the Battle of Britain, becoming one of the country’s iconic symbol.

Now its story is to be told in the words of the last-surviving combat veterans in a documentary co-produced by a Bishopstoke resident.

For Peter Lisney The Spitfire is his first film and he hopes it will help the Southampton and Eastleigh community remember the world-changing aircraft.

The Spitfire played a pivotal role in many crucial battles of the Second World War and gave the British a decisive advantage in fighting Germany in the Battle of Britain.

In a 90 minutes long documentary, Peter and his crew have tried to tell the story of the aircraft through the words of the local residents who flew it and through digitally re-mastered archive footage from 1940.

Peter, who produces video for financial advisers and the Royal Air Force (RAF), is now hoping the documentary will make residents and especially young generations, feel proud.

The 49-year-old said: “Whenever everything significant happens in the world we should record it and tell the story to our children. This is what our documentary does.We have spent a fortune on filming the last flying Spitfires in the air from other aircraft and we have interviewed the last of the few pilots who won the Battle of Britain. The Spitfire was game-changing, a massive achievement and the people of Eastleigh and Southampton have the right to feel proud and I hope they will approve the way we have told its story.”

Peter bumped into the film crew of Spitfire two years ago when they were filming the 80th birthday celebrations of the aircraft at Southampton Airport and after talking to them he decided to join the crew.

“This has been an inspiring and humbling experience for me, working alongside some of the best producers in the film industry and most of all, sharing the responsibility to tell the true story of a world changing aircraft, designed and built on my very doorstep,” Peter said.

The Spitfire is now set to be premiered in London on Monday before being showed in cinemas across the country in a one night only screening on July 17.

It will be shown in several cinemas across Southampton including Showcase Cinema and Odeon Southampton. To book tickets visit www.spitfire.film.