Yes it is true!
It happened at Lyneham in July 1964 when Wg Cdr Taffy Holden was checking Lightning F Mk 1 XM135 for an elusive electrical fault. He managed to get both engines stuck in full A/B, took off and roared around Lyneham for 12 min until he managed a shaky landing on the main runway, stopping 100 yd from the end of the RW. Not bad considering his only solo time had been years earlier on piston-engined trainers!
But I understand that he suffered mentally for many years thereafter.
(Posting crossed!)