A DECISION on whether cash earmarked for Southampton's controversial laser project should be spent on a bronze replica Spitfire instead is due to be made today.

The Southampton Partnership, made up of various city organisations, will decide whether to award £235,000 to help pay for the Spitfire, the iconic Second World War fighter designed and built in the city.

The laser beams proposed for the Civic Centre clock tower were effectively axed by the council's minority Tory administration which took power in May.

It left an unallocated pot of money from the South East England Development Agency.

Cabinet member for leisure and culture councillor John Hannides was due to lead a council delegation to present a bid for the cash.

Cllr Hannides said: "It's clear from the coverage in the Daily Echo there is a clear groundswell of support for this project across the city, including the business community. It also has cross-party support."

The Spitfire statue, with a 30ft wingspan, is expected to cost more than £200,000.

This week a Spitfire replica was temporally transported from the city's Solent Sky Museum, to the roundabout outside the De Vere Grand Harbour hotel, where the statue would be likely to be placed, to test public reaction. It is pictured at the roundabout above.

"The siting with the backdrop of the old walls and waterfront encapsulates both the mediaeval and maritime heritage of the city and makes for a very striking image," Cllr Hannides said.

The Spitfire was designed in Southampton by Reginald J Mitchell for the Supermarine Company in Woolston.

His son, Gordon Mitchell, 86, has backed the campaign for a replica Spitfire.

The prototype of the fighter made its maiden flight from Eastleigh airfield in March 1936, paving the way for 22,000 of them to be built up until 1945, including 8,000 in Southampton.

It played a pivotal role in defeating the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when Britain was threatened with invasion.