An amphibious vehicle that was sensationally unearthed last week after being buried for more than 70 years could go on display in Crowland to help commemorate floods that devastated the town.

An ambitious project managed to successfully uncover a Buffalo personnel carrier that had been buried 28-feet below the surface - sparking huge interest among residents as well as national and international media attention.

The Buffalo had been dispatched to the town to help tackle the serious floods of 1947 - but was swept away by waters and sunk into the ground, where it had been ever since.

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A team of about 50 people - including Crowland Cranes, North Level Internal Drainage Board and Tear’s Recovery - were involved in carefully peeling back the layers of history in a project that was the brainchild of farmer Daniel Abbott.

Mr Abbott (41) said: “I still can’t really believe we have done it. It’s a bit overwhelming really.

“A couple of people spoke to me and said ‘I have heard rumours all my life but never thought anything would be found’.”

He told the Free Press that he’d had a dream the night before in which he saw the Buffalo in a shed surrounded by other items. He woke and wrote it all down - only later to get the call from NLDB to say the big moment had arrived.

He said: “The dream came true.”

A GPS Ordnance survey had helped to solve the mystery of the Buffalo’s whereabouts.

The vehicle was taken away by Crowland Cranes to be washed down and treated so that its excellent condition can be preserved.

A separate gun shield was found five-to-ten feet away and was also in great condition.

Mr Abbott now wants to establish a museum so that the vehicle can sit alongside photos and videos and spread awareness of the 1947 floods ahead of the 75th anniversary next year.

He said: “We are in talks for having a building built for it.

“It’s another part of Crowland’s history, the Fens’ history.

“We need to keep this memory going for generations.”

The vehicles - which were personnel carriers and not tanks - were thought to have been involved in operations to cross the Rhine in the Second World War before finding a new mission after the conflict.

In total, 30 such vehicles were sent to Crowland - and several are still buried and form part of the flood defences.

A couple more are said to be buried under the town’s fishing lake.

The 1947 floods came after a combination of heavy snow, a sudden thaw, high tides, rain and wind, causing the River Welland to break its banks.

According to reports in the Lincolnshire Free Press and our sister newspaper, the Spalding Guardian, from 1947, some Crowland residents were made homeless, others saw their homes flooded and farmers found thousands of acres of crops under water at a time when rationing was still in force.

The breach of the river was first reported in March - and wasn’t sealed up until August.