A campaign has been launched to build a memorial to a heroic Second World War fighter pilot who crashed to his death in Heston.

Lieutenant Gaston Riggs completed 25 treacherous missions in B-17 bombers during the conflict before switching to fighter planes.

He was on a training flight from Cambridge on February 26, 1945, when the Mustang he was piloting got into difficulties.

Rather than bailing out over a heavily populated area and endangering those below, he bravely chose to stay at the controls and attempt to land at Heston Airport.

The USAAF pilot landed just short of the perimeter, smashing into a farm house at Grange Farm, where North Hyde Lane today crosses the M4.

Despite the efforts of rescuers who braved flames to reach him, he died en route to West Middlesex Hospital.

As the 70th anniversary of his death approaches, a group of aviation enthusiasts want to commemorate his heroic deeds by building a memorial close to the site of the fatal crash.

Colin Bear, who is leading the campaign, said: "He paid the ultimate price for his unselfish act of heroism when the aircraft impacted just short of the airfield's threshold. We think this should be permanently commemorated and are seeking permission to have a small plaque mounted near the location."

The appeal was started by Mr Bear and fellow contributors to an online forum, regular visitors to which include two of pilot's nephews and the grandson of the police constable who pulled his body from the burning wreck.

Lieutenant Riggs earned a break from combat after completing 25 perilous bombing missions but he was devastated when the plane carrying his regular crew, flown by a different pilot was shot down over Germany. It was this tragedy which persuaded him to switch to the more solitary role of fighter pilot on his return to the UK in late 1944.

He was initially laid to rest at the Cambridge American Cemetery in Madingley, Cambridgeshire, near to the airfield from where his final flight departed, but he was reburied in his native Texas with full military honours after the war ended.

* For more about the memorial campaign and to share your memories of the crash, or of Heston Airport, call Mr Bear on 07730 919545 or email colinbear@btinternet.com.