“It has taken me 16 years of research to get this far and it’s not been easy. I’ve been close to getting a contract before but then people have interfered and created problems for me and I have had to battle through Government red tape.

“Signing the contract would be a milestone. The thought that 36 Spitfires could soon be coming home after years of battling is rewarding.

“Spitfires are beautiful aeroplanes and should not be rotting away in a foreign land. They saved our neck in the Battle of Britain and they should be preserved.”

In 1944/45, the Mark XIV aeroplanes, which used Rolls-Royce Griffon engines instead of the Merlins of earlier models, were put in crates and transported from the factory in Castle Bromwich, to Burma.

But after arriving by rail at a Burmese RAF base they were deemed surplus to requirements and never used. The aircrafts were buried in transport crates on the orders of Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Before burial, the Spitfires were waxed, wrapped in greased paper and their joints tarred, to protect against decay.

Mr Cundall says the burial of the Spitfires in Burma was political as they were payment to the Koreans for their efforts during the Second World War.

His efforts have been widely welcomed by Spitfire enthusiasts.

Pilot Mrs Carolyn Grace, who flies a Grace Spitfire ML407 which her late husband lovingly rebuilt, said: “The Spitfire is a British icon and represents so much to us all, in particular for me the Grace Spitfire, which flew 319 combat hours during World War II.

“It would be a great achievement if the Mark XIV Spitfires Mr Cundall has so painstakingly located in Burma are returned to Britain and restored to flying condition.”

Prime Minister David Cameron has been involved in the campaign to bring the Spitfires home, as has commercial property developer Steve Boultbee Brooks, 51, who runs Boultbee Flight Academy in Chichester, which teaches people to fly a two-seater Spitfire he bought in 2009 for £1.78 million.

Almost 12,000 of the iconic fighters rolled off the production line at Castle Bromwich.

History buff Doug Pullen has called for one of the returning Burmese Spitfires to go on display in the Tyburn ward of Birmingham, close to the aircraft factory, now run by Jaguar, and Castle Bromwich Aerodrome, now Castle Vale housing estate.

Visit http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32913 for his online petition.