It’s taken 78 years but intrepid Bob Leith finally fulfilled a childhood ambition to fly a Spitfire.

And as the celebrated wartime fighter aircraft victory-rolled in blue skies above the white cliffs of Dover on his 84th birthday, he certainly ticked this item off his bucket list in style.

Bob, who travelled from his home in Laxey to Biggin Hill with stepson Mark for his experience of a lifetime on Sunday said: ’It was absolutely out of this world. The best experience I’ve ever had.

’It more than matched my expectations. It was fantastic. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a child.’

Bob vividly remembers as a child of six in 1941 when three Spitfires flew above his home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

’My mum told me they were going to shoot down Germans. Like every young child, I was Spitfire mad,’ he said.

Bob was in good hands at Biggin Hill with former Red Arrows pilot Jeremy Britcher at the controls who performed some aerobatics as the aircraft headed out over Dover.

Then it was time for Bob to take over - and for 10 unforgettable minutes he was in charge of flying the veteran aircraft.

’It handled beautifully,’ he said.

Bob had flown a Piper Cherokee at Ronaldsway before, having taken up flying lessons in 1994. But he’d been forced to give up the dream of becoming a pilot due to medical reasons.

And as a 15-year-old air cadet, he had enjoyed aerobatics in Tiger Moth out of Finningley airfield in Doncaster. ’If you can do aerobatics in an open cockpit, you can do anything,’ he said.

Built at Castle Bromwich in last 1943, the Spitfire now registered at MJ772 was delivered to a Free French squadron and flew 50 sorties before being damaged in action.

After repair, she flew sorties over the Normandy beach head on D-Day.

Bob himself is no stranger to action. At the sprightly age of 80, he completed a 2,000 metre swim at the NSC, in less than two hours.

An abseil down Maughold Head lighthouse followed when he was 81 and then in March this year, he did an abseil down the TT Tower at the Grandstand.

And all this was done with a bi-lateral knee and hip replacement, and osteo and rheumatoid arthritis.

Bob, who lost his wife Christine before Christmas, took a Manx flag with him to Biggin Hill. As well as fulfilling a childhood ambition, he completed his Spitfire aerobatics as a sponsored event for the Live at Home charity.

Bob had raised £300 in donations before he had even got off the ground. This adds to the total of £5,890 he had raised with his three previous intrepid feats.

He said he is now planning his next challenge.