The military base that even Sheffield locals had forgotten is there

But now, few people are aware of the old RAF base, which helped protect Sheffield in World War Two, and continued to operate in the city until well into the 1960s.

Bits of RAF Norton are still there - but most of it has now been stripped away, with plans to develop housing there.

Our gallery of pictures, below, show both the base in its prime, in the 1950s and 60s, and how it looks today, nearly 60 years after the RAF left.

Some residents want something on the site to highlight its heritage, concerned it will be completely forgotten in years to come.

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In World War Two, Norton was a base for barrage balloons, inflatables that were used to stop Nazi bombers from getting to Sheffield, by lifting thick cables that they could not fly through. The Air Training Corps 367 Squadron was also based there from 1941 and had an old Gypsy Moth aircraft for practice.

After the war, it became a station in the Royal Auxiliary Airforce Signals Group, concerned mainly with radar and radio equipment.

Photos show how it opened up to the public for open days in the 1950s.

But its time as an operational RAF base came to an end in January 1965, with the air force flag finally lowered for the last time.

Over the years, its site later became well known as the Lightwood driver training school, with the old RAF hard standings and runways being used to train people in driving stills, including teaching children who were not yet old enough to take cars on the roads.

Many of the old RAF buildings, including hangars, were still there until just a couple of years ago, when they were finally demolished.

Now, only the old hard standings of runways and building footings remain.