A MAN who saved up to buy himself a plane could lose it after it was impounded by Blackpool Airport -- unless he can find more than £500,000.

Peter Bird, owner of taxi company Carter Cars, Padiham, has owned his £18,000 Piper Cherokee for ten years and has it on permanent loan to Comed Aviation in Blackpool.

The airport has detained the company's planes, seven of which are in private ownership, because Comed owes airport landing fees, passenger load surcharges and fuel charges totalling £544,154.

Mr Bird, 46, said: "This has dropped on us like a bombshell. It is a stitch-up and I feel bitter. What was Blackpool Airport doing letting the company run up this sort of money?"

He went without holidays to save up to buy himself the plane, which he used for short pleasure trips with friends.

He said that, like many other aircraft owners, he had an arrangement to loan his plane to a company. The company pays for maintenance, insurance and anchorages costs and Peter just has to pay for fuel when he wants to fly. Mr Bird said: "It means it costs me about a third of the price it would to borrow a plane and pay an hourly flying rate. In the end the aircraft basically pays for itself."

He said until now he had never heard of the Civil Aviation Act that the planes had been seized under and warned other plane owners that the same could happen to them.

He said: "We have contacted specialist lawyers and they say it would cost £25,000 to get the case heard in the High Court -- that's more than my plane is worth. It is a stalemate."

If the debts are not paid within the deadline which runs out on April 17, then under the Act the airport has a right to sell the impounded aircraft.

Coun David Owen, chairman of the board at the council-owned Blackpool Airport, said the issue was a contractual matter between the owners of the planes and Comed Aviation and he could not comment on management decisions which has been made by the airport.

Charles MacMillan, of Manchester-based receivers BDO Stoy Hayward, which is handling Comed's affairs, said: "Comed is heavily insolvent and hasn't got these kind of funds.

"We are in negotiation with parties interested in relaunching the airline and buying the assets that Comed does have."