Owner of 18ft Thunderbird 3 replica thought he was only buying a model

An airport worker described the comical moment when the onsite staff asked if they had brought a lorry to pick up the model

The Thunderbird 3 replica is a well-known local landmark in North Yorkshire (Stephen Meara-Blount/Geograph)

The buyer of a massive Thunderbird 3 space rocket mistakenly believed they were purchasing a miniature model, it has been revealed.

A former employer of Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire, Andrew Bellamy, said the son of one of the site’s former owners made the error in 2008 when they bid on a replica.

Mr Bellamy, who worked at the airport for 20 years, said when they turned in Blackpool to retrieve the replica to bring it back to Humberside, where it remains, they were asked if they had brought a lorry.

Thunderbird 3 was the primary spacecraft of the show’s international rescue, piloted by Alan and John Tracy.

The original Thunderbirds, a classic kids' puppet sci-fi series, is being honoured for the 60th anniversary of its first TV broadcast on 30 September 1965.

Mr Bellamy, from Epworth, told the BBC that staff had gone to pick up the model in a Land Rover.

After learning from a site worker that the model was in fact massive, the crew turned around and went back to Humberside Airport to organise a lorry.

The oversized purchase is reminiscent of the mockumentary Spinal Tap. In the film, the band ordered what they thought was a life-size replica of Stonehenge but instead received a miniature.

The Thunderbird 3, which belongs to Eastern Airways who have their headquarters at the airport, measures 18 metres in length and is a well known local landmark.