Hayley MaceThe world famous Avro Vulcan bomber has been given the thumbs up to fly just nine days before it is due to appear at the Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival.Hayley Mace

The world famous Avro Vulcan bomber has been given the thumbs up to fly just nine days before it is due to appear at the Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival.

The Vulcan XH558 had been grounded and unable to display at recent air shows because of difficulties renewing its annual permit to fly.

Now the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has rubber stamped the jet's permit, meaning that it will be able to return to Lowestoft for the resort's annual air festival on Thursday and Friday next week after it wowed crowds on the town's seafront for the first time last summer.

The Vulcan, which saw action in the Falklands, is the only flying model in the world and was recently restored during a 15-year �6m project by the Vulcan To The Sky Trust.

A spokesman for the Vulcan To The Sky Trust said: 'We now have a permit, which is an extension for three months to allow us to finish the rest of the airshow season.

'All being well, she will display at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford this weekend and then be in Lowestoft the following week.'

Although the permit was granted just in time for an airshow at Yeovilton at the weekend, the Vulcan could not fly at the event on Saturday because of the weather.

The trust spokesman said: 'She couldn't fly because of the low cloud base and she ended up on statics.'

The application for the Vulcan's permit to fly fell behind schedule because of delayed inspections to the aircraft. Last year, permission was only granted three weeks before the Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival because it was forced to land early during a test flight because of problems with the landing gear.

The Cold War delta wing jet was one of the most popular aircraft at last year's Lowestoft airshow and drew huge crowds when it roared over the resort on both days of the festival.

The Vulcan is scheduled to fly on both days of this summer's event in Lowestoft, which takes place on Thursday and Friday next week. Other aircraft due to appear include the world-famous Red Arrows, a Spitfire, a Hawker Hunter, wing walkers and aerobatic displays.