THE countdown has begun to the first Teignmouth Air Show.

Final touches are being put to tomorrow’s inaugural show which will feature a host of aerial acrobatic displays.

Up to 40,000 people could be in town to witness the event and enjoy the music and entertainment going on throughout the day.

In the days leading up to the weekend, organisers received more cash donations to support the show with £2,000 from one local business, £500 from another and £700 from a customer at deputy chairman of the show committee Robert Phipps’ ice cream shop.

He explained: ‘I was telling her we needed to have an extra ambulance we weren’t aware we had to have and it was going to cost an extra £700.

‘She came in and gave me the money.

‘We have had such a huge amount of support from the town, people have taken us to their hearts.’

The show is estimated to cost up to £80,000 to stage.

With a donation of £10,000 from Teignmouth Town Council, the rest has been raised through sponsorship, donations and fund raising events.

The town council has also agreed to waive the £1,200 cost for extra toilet cleaning.

Ahead of tomorrow’s show, on Tuesday residents and visitors were treated to an impromptu display from the pilot of the Pitts Special aircraft who did a practice display.

David Rowlands fun fair has moved onto The Den and given very generous sponsorship to the show.

Great Western Railway is laying on extra trains and the car park will be closed allowing the crowds to be marshalled to the underpass into town.

Mr Phipps added: ‘We need to get this first year under our belts to see how popular it is.

‘It has been a huge amount of work but it’s all for the town, to make it prosperous and encourage people to come to Teignmouth.

‘We are doing our best for the environment too and to cut down on plastic so, for example, we are borrowing reusable glasses from Exeter Chiefs.

‘There have been comments about our carbon footprint but we are working on ways to make the event carbon-neutral in future.

‘We are very mindful of the environment.

‘Teignmouth is an ideal location for an air show with a wide long seafront.’

Restrictions on air shows following the Shoreham air tragedy have been a ‘nightmare’, he explained.

Officers from Teignbridge Council have ‘not left the stone unturned’ to ensure the show meets the strict regulations.

Mr Phipps said: ‘It’s our first year so it has been a learning curve so be patient with us, we will get some things wrong but we have done our best.

‘But we hope everyone will come along and enjoy the weekend.’

Six directors of the air show company have put in many man hours putting it together, some working on it up to 4am.

Timings have now been published for the day’s flights with the event kicking off at 1pm with The Blades team with their close-formation aerobatics.

The team are highly skilled former Red Arrow and UK National Aerobatic pilots.

Next up at 3pm is the Pitts Special biplane.

Following at 3.30pm will be the Yak3, a single engine single-seat Second World War Soviet frontline fighter aircraft.

The powerful Typhoon, a twin engine multi-role fighter, will be appearing at 4.30pm.

The finale at 5pm will be the solo RAF Spitfire display.

A number of restrictions will be in place on the day for public and pilot safety.

Between 1pm and 6pm, there will be a zone at the mouth of the River Teign which will restrict access for boats.

An air exclusion zone also prohibits other aircraft in the area including drones.

Road closures will be in place in the town centre with extra parking available out of town for £5 for the day.

But the weekend’s fun starts tonight with live music from tribute acts in the marquee on the Den featuring Elizabeth Phipps as Adele, the Abbabelles, Jessie Goes Gaga and the Break Beat Bandits.

To finish off the weekend, there will be a family fun day on The Den on Sunday.

And the Crash Box Classic Car Club will be running a classic car show on the Upper Den Carriageway from 10am.

Anyone who wants to volunteer can go along to the marquee at 10am tomorrow for a briefing.

There will be official volunteers with collection buckets around the town.

Organisers, who started with nothing, are hoping they can build on this year with some funding in place to make a head start for next year.

Programmes, designed by Teignmouth artist Laura Wall, are now on sale throughout the town.

Due to the large number of visitors expected and the road closures in place around Teignmouth town centre, there are two separate event car parks for visitors to use with access to public transport at both locations.

These are at Morrisons playing field and Warren Farm at Dawlish Warren, where it will cost £5 per vehicle all day and open from 9am.