A ceremony at a former RAF base in High Wycombe saw developers hand over historic military signage from when the site played a major role in the Cold War.

The former RAF Daws Hill site was the nerve centre for the United States Army Air Force’s European bombing campaign during the Second World War.

It also played a major role in the Cold War and was variously run by the USAF and then the US Navy.

And after the sale of the base for housing, developers Taylor Wimpey handed the Cold War sign to Wycombe District Council chairman Lesley Clarke OBE as works gets underway on the 441-home ‘Pine Tree’ project.

Emma Jones, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey said: "We are proud to have played a part in preserving a piece of the fascinating history of Daws Hill and are delighted to hand this sign to the council.

"We look forward to seeing it on display in the new community centre at Pine Trees, once it has been built, to remind future generations of the unique heritage of this site."

The handover event was also attended by author Sean Kelly, who was based at USAF Daws Hill and has written about the US military presence in the UK.

He was part of the team, also including Cllr Clarke, which discovered the sign during a walk-through of the base late last year.

The Daws Hill development will include a village centre with convenience store, community centre and bus hub, as well as a primary school, an Air Training Corps facility and employment space.

The controversial plans drew strong criticism from the Daws Hill Neighbourhood Forum group, who complained they didn’t have enough of a say over the future of the site.

But the group lost its appeal to overturn the council's decision to remove RAF Daws Hill and Handy Cross sports centre sites from its Neighbourhood Area.

Campaigners also argued the congested Daw Hill road and wider area could not deal with the influx of new residents without huge investment in infrastructure.