Hobby pilots have been left up in arms over plans to get rid of their beloved airfield - to make way for 4,250 new homes.

Pilots at Popham Airfield are furious over new proposals to turn their cherished land in Jane Austen country into a 'garden village'.

Aviation enthusiasts who use the 68 hectare site in the heart of the Hampshire countryside blame Labour's housing pledge.

They say they face the possibility of having to give up flying altogether if they are to lose Popham Airfield, which is ranked among the best general aviation airfields in Britain.

Currently, 70,000 people a year use Popham Airfield, which is also used as an event space.

Campaigners say the strip, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, has been labelled 'unimportant'.

It is just a few minutes down the road from the historic village of Steventon, Hants, where Jane Austen lived for the first 25 years of her life.

Developers have described the proposed site as a 'garden village' - despite it being larger than several nearby towns.

An aerial view of Popham Airfield, Hants which is under threat from new housing plan

Hobby pilots have been left up in arms over plans to get rid of their beloved airfield - to make way for 4,250 new homes

Aviation enthusiasts who use the 68 hectare site in the heart of the Hampshire countryside blame Labour's housing pledge

The draft of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's local plan includes proposals for 4,250 new homes on the airfield in Hampshire.

Pilot Brian Lloyd, spokesman for campaign group Popham Airfield Matters, said he will have to give up his plane if the plans go ahead.

The 70 year old retired graphic designer from London said: 'I've been interested in aircrafts my entire life.

'When I retired I took on building my own aircraft with a neighbour in our garage.

'When it got too big we had to take it out to the airfield. It took five years to complete.

'If this airfield gets shut down I won't be able to afford to keep it anywhere.

'I'll have to give it up.'

The owner of Popham Airfield is the son of late aviation collector Charles Church and Mr Church's widow. It was put up for sale by the Church family.

Father of two Mr Lloyd said that the Church family are now in partnership with Alfred Homes, the company which is said to want to build on the site.

He continued: 'The problem is the council aren't really the baddies in this.

'Basically, central government has increased their housing targets, having made a rash election promise.

'The council can only really respond to fill the government targets with land that's been offered to them, so they are between a rock and a hard place.