Bootprints in the sand mark WWII anniversary of tragic D-Day Exercise Tiger in Devon

A set of bootprints for each American soldier who died 75 years ago during Exercise Tiger have been laid out on Slapton Sands.

More than 700 men were killed in British waters - as they rehearsed for the D-Day landings.

Exercise Tiger was a secret mission to prepare for the Allied invasion of Normandy but they were attacked by E-boats from Nazi Germany.

Artist Martin Barraud created the installation which was unveiled by the Remembered charity and will raise money for veteran employment projects.

Mr Barraud also designed last year’s There But Not There campaign, which placed silhouettes of First World War “Tommy” troops across the UK.

The exercise was kept secret for years afterwards.

Pam Wills, 85, from Devon, was just 10 when Exercise Tiger took place near her home, and her family was evacuated before the exercise began.

She said: “The US soldiers came over and talked to us, they gave us sweets and comics, but they then suddenly disappeared.

“We didn’t know Exercise Tiger had taken place, but my father, who was in the Royal Observer Corps watching for enemy aircraft, saw ambulances going to and from Slapton Sands, so we knew something was wrong.”