Bletchley Park, home of the Enigma codebreakers, is indulging in some light tin-rattling to raise cash for urgent repairs at the historic site.

According to the Bletchley Park Trust, while visitor numbers are up 40 per cent over the last two years and cash is coming in from its Science and Innovation Centre and wedding business, a cool £1m is needed to fix the central Victorian mansion's roof while some of the codebreaking huts are in "a desperate state of decay".

Funding has allowed the refurbishment of some of the historic buildings on site, including Hut 8, the former workplace of the legendary Alan Turing, but the Trust evidently needs more money to preserve Britain's wartime heritage.

Trust director Simon Greenish said: “The site is unique and one of the most important remaining from World War Two. We have exciting plans to develop the Park and save it for future generations. The more visitors we have helps us to realise those plans.”

Among the exciting plans on the boil is the National Museum of Computing due to open later this year in Block H, the world's first purpose-built computer room and home to the Colossus machine which helped break the German Lorenz codes.

Centrepiece of the museum will be a rebuilt Colossus Mk2 machine, reconstructed by volunteers over 12 years, which will share space with a Turing Bombe and a 1970s ICL 2900, among other goodies.

Tickets for Bletchley Park are £10 for adults, £8 for concessions and £6 for young 'uns between 12 and 14. Kids under 12 get in free. ®

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