If you take a look up to the Norfolk skies this afternoon, you may spot a special plane soaring through the air.

A Spitfire is set to fly over two of the county’s main hospitals today in a show of gratitude to health staff.

The blue Spitfire, operated by family-owned engineering firm The Aircraft Restoration Company based at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire, will have the message ‘THANK U NHS’ under its wings.

It will make two special flights on Friday, with the second route scheduled to fly over the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King’s Lynn and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) before making its way down to Suffolk and Essex.

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The Aircraft Restoration Company has launched a fundraiser online to mark the NHS’ 72nd Birthday last weekend and is offering a special opportunity to those who donate.

Anyone who pledges £10 or more to NHS Charities Together can nominate a family member or friend’s name to be hand written onto the plane while also celebrating and raising money for NHS staff.

The firm said there is room for 80,000 names on the Spitfire.

The Aircraft Restoration Company said: “The aim is to lift the spirits of those across the UK, many of whom are still living in some form of isolation, whilst also thanking the hospitals, communities and individuals who have been at the forefront of getting the country through the pandemic.

“During the next few months, the team at Aircraft Restoration Company will be carefully planning flight routes across UK mainland local communities and hospitals.”

Friday’s afternoon flight will see the iconic aircraft take off at 3pm from Duxford Airfield, from where it will visit Northampton General Hospital and Peterborough City hospital before passing over the QEH at around 3.36pm.

It is then scheduled to reach the NNUH 13 minutes later at 3.49pm before crossing the border into Suffolk to fly past RAF Lakenheath Hospital at 4pm.

From there, it will visit West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich Hospital, Colchester Hospital and Earls Colne Air Ambulance base before returning to Duxford at 4.40pm.

To find out more, visit the NHS Spitfire fundraising page.