After dying in Sussex during the Battle of Britain, William "Scotty" Gordon was thought to have found peace, buried alongside relatives in his Scottish home town.

That repose, however, has been disturbed by the shock discovery of his remains in plane wreckage 650 miles from his grave.

It was assumed the body of Pilot Officer Gordon, killed in action on September 6, 1940 at the age of 20, had been transported to Dufftown in Moray, Scotland, for burial.

But now, 63 years on, more of his bones have been found by aviation archaeologists digging around the scene of his crash near Hailsham.

The find has baffled historians and one of his ex-colleagues, raising doubts about what lies in Pilot Officer Gordon's grave and coffin in Mortlach, Scotland.

Pilot Officer Gordon's surviving relatives are now deciding what to do with the remains, in discussions with the Ministry of Defence.

His parents, Major William Gordon and wife Maggie, are both dead and are buried beside what they believed was their son's grave.

His sister, Elizabeth Gordon, had tended the grave until her death in November, aged 72.

She, too, is buried in what was assumed to be her brother's plot.

Pilot Officer Gordon is thought to have a nephew and niece in the Inverurie area.

An MoD spokeswoman said his relatives were now considering whether to bury the remains with the rest of his body.

The macabre discovery was a shock to the archaeologists who had won MoD permission to dig up Pilot Officer Gordon's Spitfire No X4036.

They were merely expecting to uncover artefacts from the Spitfire buried in a meadow at Hadlow Down, beside the River Uck.

Instead, still strapped into the armour plating around the plane's seat, they found Pilot Officer Gordon's remains, including his name-tagged jacket.

Steve Hall, from Brighton, who led the dig, said: "We were very surprised to find the tunic as we had been assured human remains had been removed and buried in 1940.

"We had been following the rules of our licence very carefully and when the bones appeared, we looked at them reverently and immediately took them to Brighton police station."

Pilot Officer Gordon had been shot down just a fortnight after claiming his first kill in the fierce aerial battles above England.

His Spitfire was downed during a dogfight with three German Messerschmitt 109s.

The latest development has prompted suggestions that either part of his body was buried or that rescuers had filled the coffin with stones or earth instead.

There is even the possibility that another dead airman has been lying in Pilot Officer Gordon's grave.

The Reverend Hugh Smith, minister at Mortlach Church, said the coffin would be exhumed and another service held if Pilot Officer Gordon's family so desired.

Last month a commemorative plaque was placed in his honour at Mortlach Junior School, which he attended as a boy.

He is also remembered fondly in Sussex.

Bob Doe, 83, from Crowborough, served alongside Pilot Officer Gordon in 234 Squadron and flew beside him the day he was killed. He remembered his old colleague as "the most delightful man".

Mr Doe, who became a wing commander, told The Argus: "I knew him well - I remember the day he was shot down.

"It's quite serious to find out that someone was supposedly buried in good faith yet they've now found his remains. How this could happen needs investigating."