GENEROUS flight fans donated almost £50,000 towards the running of this year’s record-breaking Clacton Airshow.

More than 220,000 flight fans lined the Tendring coastline over the two days of the high-flying spectacle in August.

The resort’s 24th annual air show was hailed as the “best ever” by organisers and included a heartfelt tribute to the victims of the tragic plane crash at Shoreham.

Mick Skeels, cabinet member for tourism, said: “Thanks to the generosity of the 220,000 visitors to this year’s Clacton Airshow, we managed to collect over £9,200 through the bucket collections and almost £40,000 on programme sales.

“Despite spending more on the flying display than ever before and the insurance costs rising by around 25 per cent, we have still managed to deliver the biggest ever Clacton Airshow for a total cost of a round £30,000.

“Plans are now well underway to make next year’s 25th airshow even bigger.”

The airshow in Clacton cost £123,000 to run, but is mostly funded through trade stands at the West Greensward site and sponsorship - leaving the final cost to the taxpayer at just £30,000.

This year’s airshow include the Red Arrows, the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the giant Chinook helicopter, the Sally B B-17 Flying Fortress, A Soviet MiG fighter jet, the RAF Typhoon Eurofighter and the mighty Vulcan bomber.