THE closure of RAF Lyneham will mean the end of a personal era for Babs Taylor, verger of the village church, St Michael and All Angels.

Mrs Taylor, 42, came to Lyneham 35 years ago and went on to work as a stewardess in the Officers' Mess.

"I love this village, it has formed the biggest part of my life," she said.

"I met my husband here, who was a local lad, and we married in this church. My husband's father even helped to build the base.

"It beggars belief, this decision to close it.

"They brought the Hercules fleet here in the 1960s because Brize has only one runway and we have two. I have never known the airfield close in all that time."

Mrs Taylor said the church would undoubtedly suffer with the loss of the RAF.

"We have always had a mixture of locals and RAF families in the congregation," she said.

"It's a very happy mix and when people leave and then return to the area, they always say how nice it is to be back in Lyneham.

"The churchyard also has many RAF graves and the Old Boys return here every year for their service, as do the Air Training Corps."

Mrs Taylor added: "There is a genuine feeling of sadness here at the moment and I think it will be that way for quite some time."

Former RAF serviceman Andy Humm is now set to lose his job as a civilian aircraft handler at RAF Lyneham.

"This is the final nail in the coffin of Lyneham, for mine and hundreds of other people's jobs," he said.

"I, like many people, have been expecting the worse for sometime, but nothing can prepare you fully for the news that the base is going to close.

"Not knowing what was going to happen has been a huge blow to people's morale here at Lyneham.

"I work as part of a team of around 20 local men on the base and although no information has been given to us yet, we know we will lose our jobs by the time the base closes in eight or so years, which is difficult for the younger ones among us."

Mr Humm said residents feared Lyneham will turn into a ghost town.

"We saw what happened when they pulled out of Colerne 12 years ago the place has never recovered," he said. "Local business foresee a huge struggle in front of them.

"Even when large numbers of personnel were stationed away in the Gulf wars, the businesses suffered to lose them completely will be a huge blow.

"There is also the knowledge that although there are possible uses for the land, new housing is out, because the land is contaminated, a return to farming land is also out, because the land would have to be left open for 30 years to de-contaminate it.

"I would like to see the Army move in here, perhaps even a rapid response unit based here."

Mr Humm has witnessed the effects of the cloud of uncertainty which has been hanging over the village, through his work as editor of the highly-popular village website, Lyneham Village and Beyond.

"The forum is always very popular and the subject of the future of Lyneham is a constant talking point, but in the day before the announcement, this went up to a staggering 10,000," he said.

"People are angry that this has been able to happen. Many feel that the Government are just trying to save money without any concern for our local economy."