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A celebrated World War II plane adorned with a thank you message to NHS workers for their service during the COVID pandemic flew over Hairmyres Hospital last week.

A blue PL983 Spitfire was in the skies throughout the day, paying tribute to staff at 23 Scottish hospitals.

John Romain painted the message “Thank You NHS” on the aircraft’s wings at Cumbernauld Airport before setting out on a charity mission, with the plane scheduled to fly over 64 hospitals across the UK throughout the week.

The famed aircraft was spotted above the East Kilbride hospital at around 2.20pm on Thursday, with the names of thousands of key workers also inscribed on the plane’s fuselage.

The Spitfire, built in 1944, took off from Cumbernauld Airport at 10am and flew via Dunfermline, Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen on its tour, before landing at

Inverness Airport at around 11.30am.

After lunch, it headed for the west, flying over Stirling, New Stobhill, Gartnavel and the Queen Elizabeth hospitals, to name but a few.

It was the biggest flyover organised by the NHS Spitfire Project in partnership with Aircraft Restoration Company.

The plane had previously flown every Thursday during lockdown from its base at Duxford Airfield near Cambridge.

Since then nearly £80,000 has been raised with the names of those who donated handwritten onto the plane.

Proceeds from John’s fundraising venture were donated to NHS Charities Together.

John, founder and managing director of Aircraft Restoration Company, said:

“The response to our initial flight over the last 8pm clap for our carers Thursday was incredibly humbling, with hundreds of people from the local community sharing how wonderful it was to not only see the Spitfire, but also to read the message emblazoned across its wings.

“After such a positive response, we decided to leave the message painted on the Spitfire for the rest of the flying season.

“This is where the idea to hand write the names of the nation’s loved ones onto the aircraft to raise money for the NHS Charities Together began.”