19 years on and Lockerbie plane debris is rotting away in a scrapyard

Quite why it is there, 19 years after the atrocity, is shrouded in mystery.

The remains, hidden away in rural Lincolnshire, include the twisted nose section of the Boeing 747 that became the most haunting image of the bombing.

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The remains of Pan Am flight 103 are still in Roger Windley's scrapyard in rural Lincolnshire

Some 270 died when the jumbo jet was blown up above Lockerbie on December 21, 1988.

The wreckage was transported to Roger Windley's salvage scrapyard near Tattershall shortly afterwards.

Since then, it is believed the firm has been paid about £800 a month to store it.

Viewed from the air, Pan Am's distinctive blue and white livery is clearly visible among the 350 tons of mangled metal.

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Under law the yard was not allowed to dispose of the wreckage until the case was closed.

But it is six years since Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was found guilty of the bombing, although he has been granted a second appeal.

Mr Windley said police had told him not to discuss the matter.

He even refused to confirm the wreckage was in his care.

No one at Dumfries and Galloway Police was available to comment yesterday.