£4 billion fleet of Nimrods to be chopped up beginning next week

Private contractors will start scrapping the first of nine Nimrod MRA4 aircraft at their Cheshire base early next week. Each aircraft will be draped in tarpaulin and dismantled at a remote corner of the airfield. The controversial decision to scrap the Nimrods under last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review has caused bitterness among some.