But will it fit in my hangar? The Harrier jump jet for sale on eBay at £69,999

By IAN DRURY
Last updated at 8:45 AM on 3rd February 2011

It was the iconic fighter plane that helped Britain triumph in the Falklands War.

Now aircraft enthusiasts are being offered the chance to snap up a Harrier jump jet to keep in their back garden.

The last of the first generation of the revolutionary aircraft is being sold on the auction website eBay.

Bargain: The world's last first generation two-seater Harrier jet is on sale on eBay at an asking price of £69,999 complete with both cannon and missile storage pods

Buy it now? This is the cockpit of the 1971 Harrier jet which has missile storage pods. The aircraft, decomissioned in 1997, has undergone 12 months of refurbishment

For internet shoppers keen to buy this piece of military history, it’s as easy as ordering a book or CD – all they need do is click on ‘Add to cart’.

However, first they will have to meet the asking price of £69,999.

The sale is particularly poignant as the Government announced to widespread outrage in October last year that it was scrapping the country’s fleet of Harrier jump jets to save money.

Considered one of the country’s greatest technological achievements, the British-built military jets were the first in the world to take off and land vertically.

Introduced by the RAF in 1969, their ability to hover above the ground enabled the aircraft to fly in and out of battlefields that conventional jets could not reach.

The 700mph plane stamped itself on the national consciousness when it played a crucial role in the UK winning back the Falklands after they were invaded by Argentina in 1982.

It shot down 25 enemy aircraft without a single loss in air-to-air combat.

In action: Harrier T2 XW269 on active service in Gutersloh, Germany

£69,999: The world's last first generation two-seater which originally saw service in West Germany during the Cold War

The plane also served for five years in Afghanistan. Following this jet’s decommissioning in 1997, it was rescued from the scrapyard by an aircraft restoration company.

Current owner Chris Wilson, 33, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who served as a mechanic in the RAF, said it would be possible to make the Harrier air-worthy.

It has been stripped of its Rolls Royce engine but Mr Wilson said one can be sourced.

He added: ‘Without the Harrier we would never have been able to retake the Falkland Islands. It’s an awesome piece of equipment – a truly classic British engineering feat.’