His proudest boast today is that exactly 100 students have fully qualified as pilots since he bought the school in the winter of 1997.

Most of them returned with former staff, friends and supporters of the school for a big tenth anniversary party for 150 guests.

Lee said: "Ten years on, I would do it all again for the reward of teaching people to fly.

"Nothing can beat the special grin they have on their face after their first solo flight.

"It's often their dream come true.

"I am really proud that one of our guys is now flying the RAF's new Typhoon jet, one female pupil flew Hawks for the RAF and some of our instructors have moved on to be airline pilots."

As a local teenager, Lee, now 36, kept asking at Fenland Airfield until they gave him a job refuelling planes as a "petrol boy", paying in cash and a flying lesson each week.

He worked all hours in factories and offices for two years after gaining his wings to fund his training as a commercial pilot at the airfield, and borrowed all the money to buy the school when it came up for sale.

He said: "I wanted to be a pilot. All my thoughts were of flying.

"It costs a lot of money to build up the flying hours you need, but I am not the only one who found a way even though I was skint.

"Of the people who have qualified here, they are certainly not all wealthy.

"They will make sacrifices to pay for lessons and in a number of cases they did what I did, worked here for the chance to fly."