RAF Kinloss closed as an airbase on Thursday marking the end of a 73-year presence in the Moray village.

The 39 Engineer Regiment, which has been based in Waterbeach near Cambridge, has taken over the base after a private ceremony.

Not all of the 716 personnel will move immediately, with many committed to supporting the Olympic Games while others are on operations in Afghanistan and on exercise in Kenya.

The regiment is expected to be at full force in Moray by October.

The RAF Kinloss airbase was deemed surplus to requirements after ministers took the decision last year to scrap the £4bn fleet of the Nimrod MRA4 planes, as part of deep defence cuts.

As the main source of employment in the region, local residents mounted campaigns to save the base and the neighbouring station at Lossiemouth.

But while RAF Lossiemouth was reprieved, Kinloss fell victim of spending cuts and was earmarked for closure.

The blow to the local economy was softened by the news that the army would be moving in when the RAF moved out.

The Kinloss base has been touched by tragedy in recent years. Fourteen servicemen died when their Nimrod exploded in mid-air whilst refuelling over Afghanistan in 2006.

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