A NEW book casts light on the crash of a nuclear bomber in Southwick at the height of the Cold War.

The RAF Valiant bomber crashed on a railway line south of Croft Avenue, narrowly avoiding the destruction of the Manor Hall Road Junior Boys School and adjacent houses, or smashing into the busy harbour.

Three of the crew were killed in the crash on May 11 1956, with only the co-pilot able to eject.

The Argus: Wreckage was seen smouldering in Croft Avenue after the crash of the Valiant bomber in 1956 - credit: Peter Sayer Wreckage was seen smouldering in Croft Avenue after the crash of the Valiant bomber in 1956 - credit: Peter Sayer

The event had been shrouded in mystery, as the Valiant was a new top secret bomber at the time, designed to fly high and fast over the Soviet Union to drop atomic weapons in the event of a nuclear war.

Now, some 65 years later, Southwick Society chairwoman Mary Candy has pieced together the events of that fateful day and its effects on the local community through formerly top secret documents, newspaper reports and the memories of local people in a new book - Southwick’s Miraculous Escape.

She discovered the plane had been on an experimental flight from Farnborough, when on-board test equipment began to fail.

While burning off fuel around Brighton to return to base, an electrical failure caused the pilot to lose control of the aircraft.

The Argus: Houses on Croft Avenue were also damaged by the crash, which killed three of the bomber's crewHouses on Croft Avenue were also damaged by the crash, which killed three of the bomber's crew

The bomber crashed just east of a railway station, sending burning wreckage nearly half a mile from the crash site, with considerable damage to houses on Croft Avenue and Whiterock Place.

Southwick Society secretary Nigel Divers said: “When I first went to Manor Hall Road School not so long after the event, stories of the crash still abounded, many of them lurid and, in hindsight, fanciful.

“Not surprisingly amongst small boys there was much talk of spies and sabotage and many were convinced that it was carrying a bomb, conspiracy theories are nothing new.".

“Now we know what actually happened. The illustrations and maps superbly show the effects on Southwick and damage to local houses, Southwick really did have a miraculous escape.

“Mary is to be congratulated on her superb research and for producing an excellent book which answers all our questions about this tragic event.”

The Valiant bomber first flew in 1951 and entered service in 1955.

Although the aircraft was cutting edge for its time, it was not without its problems.

There were crashes in 1952 and 1955, as well as a eight further crashes after Southwick.

Have you got a story for us? Email news@theargus.co.uk or contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletter to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

You can also call us on 01273 021 400.