Attendances at Hendon RAF Museum are expected to go sky high after admission for everyone was made free from last weekend.

After a two-year campaign by Hendon MP Andrew Dismore, children and pensioners visiting the Colindale museum were allowed in for free from January this year but adults were still forking out £1.

Charges had previously been £7 for adults and £4.50 for children and pensioners.

Keith Ifould, head of group business development at the museum, said: "We are extremely delighted that the museum is able to offer free admission to all our visitors.

"We believe that this decision will allow even greater access to families and individuals to retrace the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force, as well as gain a unique insight into the lives and achievements of our nation's aviation pioneers."

The museum, which is in Grahame Park Way, is currently the centre of a £7.2million development.

The scheme will add an extra 3,500 sq ft of exhibition space and extend the site from ten to 15 acres. It is due to open in 2003.

Andrew Dismore said he and museum director Dr Michael Fopp had lobbied defence secretary Geoff Hoon to drop the charges when he visited last year.

"I am pleased with the work we did and the pitch me and the director gave Geoff Hoon about the importance of free charges came through," he said.

Meanwhile, the museum has opened a new display of air diagrams, which are posters first produced for use in training air and ground crews during the First World War.

Often the material was technically complex but cartoons and other striking images made it more memorable and easier for pilots to understand.

Most of the collection's 10,000 pieces date from 1939 to 1970.

December 4, 2001 17:49

IAN LLOYD