Wrecked caravan dumped in ‘ruins’ of Davidstow visitor airfield

Visitors to an airfield in Cornwall have expressed their disappointment after seeing a destroyed caravan and debris abandoned on the runway. Nick Maddern, who regularly visits Davidstow airfield, said it was “ruining it” for everyone who goes there to have to see the injury.

He first saw the trailer on June 21 and took photos and video footage that showed it was completely destroyed, with the frame torn to pieces, windows missing and debris strewn across the runway. Nick said the chassis was later removed but the broken parts were left in place.

He added that it was disappointing to see in an area where many go to admire the beauty around them. “It was left on the main runway,” Nick explained. “They took the chassis but left the rest and basically all over the track, it’s awful, it ruins it for everyone who goes there.

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“The toilet, mattresses and fridge were all strewn about, plus all the glass. Lots of people go there including army training. And private jets land there. There are hundreds of sheep, horses and cows that roam freely there.

“Many, many people walk their dogs there. Take their kids there. It’s a beautiful place. Wide open spaces, lots of people stay there in their RVs and fishermen go there a lot.”

Davidstow Aerodrome was an active RAF station for only three years, from 1942 to 1945, but in that short time it was home to Coastal Command squadrons involved in maritime air rescue and U-Boat hunting. The site was used by American bombers, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Polish Air Force, as well as the RAF.

After RAF Davidstow Moor was decommissioned at the end of the war, the buildings and hangars were either dismantled or left empty, becoming new homes for sheep and ponies. Today, the skeletal shell of the control tower dominates the flat marsh, but there are several other derelict buildings still standing across the airfield.

It is home to the Cornwall at War Museum and is on common ground so is easy to visit. However, Davidstow Flying Club still uses the runway and some areas are off limits to the public.