Suffolk war veteran awarded France's Legion of Honour

A man from Suffolk has been presented with France's highest honour for the role he played in liberating the country during the Second World War.

90-year-old Harry Hughes from Hadleigh was given the Legion of Honour at a special ceremony in the town this morning.

Harry said he was "surprised" so many people had turned up.

Last year on the 70th anniversary of D Day, the French government announced it would award the Legion of Honour to all surviving veterans of the Normandy landings and subsequent battles in France.

Harry was just 18 when he was called up for service in 1944.

Mark Brennan, from the Royal British Legion, said: "Harry was called up for service in early 1944 and in June he found himself being sent out to Normandy as a replacement for casualties that were taken on D Day.

"He caught up with the first battalion the Suffolk regiment and he fought from the end of June right the way through the war through France, Belgium into Holland before into Germany."

The ceremony today coincided with Harry's 90th birthday.

Click below for the full report from Victoria Lampard