THE Battle of Britain, when ‘The Few’ became the last line of defence against Germany’s Luftwaffe, has been re-enacted by some unlikely Poole residents.

Doodlebugs, the Nazi’s unmanned flying bombs, were a regular sight over the southern skies during the early 1940s – but it is another sort of bug that will pay homage to the RAF on television this week.

Bournemouth Natural Science Society president, Steve Limburn, has re-enacted the most famous aerial battle by using… cockroaches.

The former Portchester School biology teacher has been filmed with his collection of cockroaches for a documentary, Squeamish, that screens on Valentine’s Day evening.

It was while working as a lab technician, and studying for an entomology degree in London during the late 1960s, that Steve learned a special trick.

“We discovered, using the cockroaches from the lab, that if you put a little piece of chewing gum and cotton on their backs, when you lift them off the ground they fly automatically – it is a reflex action,“ he explained.

Decades later, during his time as a drummer with Dorset barn dance band, The Old Pull and Push, Steve decided to use the roaches for an on-stage Battle of Britain re-enactment.

“When the TV company came to film the programme, they filmed my re-enaction as well,” said Steve.

The 64-year-old, of Branksome, keeps several thousand cockroaches in an incubator in his garage.

He explained: “I just got to like them during my lab days and decided to bring them to Bournemouth when I took up my teaching position.

“I used them at school and also give displays at the science society during open days.”

The programme Squeamish will be shown on the Dmax television channel on February 14 at 10pm.