MUSEUM bosses have failed to raise the £600,000 required by British Airways to bring Concorde to the region.

Ian Reed, director at the Yorkshire Air Museum, confirmed that the Elvington-based attraction had been unable to find the guarantees requested by the airline before its crunch meeting with the museum today.

He also revealed he had guaranteed £100,000 of his own cash in a bid to gain a stay of execution.

The museum needed the £600,000 guarantees to secure a hangar to house the supersonic flyer.

The attraction is awaiting news of a lottery bid in October, but BA had indicated it was not prepared to wait.

Mr Reed said: "As far as we are concerned, we will get the money through our lottery bid and I am still confident.

"We are hoping they will understand we are going through the correct process. I have been looking at the other criteria and we lead by miles, so I am still confident we can do something."

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said she had received no replies to her SOS appeal sent to businesses to help the museum, which is a registered charity.

One of the world's largest aircraft touched down at the York museum today in an historic appearance.

Bystanders witnessed the awesome sight of a United States C-17 Globemaster as it landed to transport aircraft from the museum to the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford in Gloucestershire.

It was the first time an aircraft of this kind had landed at a non-military airfield in Britain.

Concorde is to go on a round-Britain farewell tour of the UK during the week of October 20.

Updated: 11:14 Friday, July 11, 2003