Leading Firefighter Dave Austin will have to wait three months before he gets behind the wheel of the fire engine he helped design.

Dave spent seven years developing the first custom-made vehicle for use at an airport and it has just gone into service at Gatwick.

To get the project finished, he put off having two operations for tennis elbow and he will now go into hospital next week.

He said: "When the fire engine arrived I felt very proud and had a huge sense of achievement inside of me.

"It went out on a call two minutes after being driven into the station. It was a wonderful feeling seeing it go out for the very first time.

"I can't wait to drive it but it will be three months before I am back at work."

Dave 38, of Weald View, Barcombe, near Lewes, has been a fireman for 20 years, the last 13 as a leading firefighter at Gatwick.

He has always had a special interest in the engines and is a fire engine driving instructor.

He was chosen to help develop the vehicle for the airport because of his long service and special interest in them.

He spent years looking at vehicles in other countries and liaised with the manufacturers of a new machine in Yorkshire.

In the later stages, he was joined by fireman friend Brian Dean and two other colleagues from Heathrow and Stansted as the final design details were drawn up.

The result is the new £140,000 vehicle which is being used at all three airports.

The appliance will deal with fires in and around the airports, crashes, chemical spillages and general medical emergencies.

It carries defibrillators, resuscitators and other medical equipment.

Dave said: "The fire engine has been designed to maximise space and is speedy and reliable.

"It has to be quick in order to meet our response time of arriving anywhere on the airfield in no longer than three minutes."

Dave and Brian also developed a training programme for fellow firefighters at the airport.

Dave said: "We are delighted with the new engine. A tremendous amount of effort and detail has gone into its design to make sure it meets all of our considerable requirements.

"The end result is a fantastic vehicle, which I am sure will help us do our job and prove to be a great asset to our service in and around the airport."