80 years since people evacuated from village on Salisbury Plain to allow troops to train

• Watch: ITV West Country's Victoria Davies went to look around the village

80 years have passed since people were evicted from a small village on Salisbury Plain so it could be turned into a military training site.

In 1943, 150 people were ordered to leave their homes in Imber so the village could be used to help American troops train for the D-Day landings.

Letters were delivered to all the villagers on 1 November 1943, giving them just 41 days to leave.

The villagers were told they would be able to return home after the war, but that never happened and it remains a training ground to this day.

The Grade 1 listed St Giles Church is the only building which has been maintained, despite having no worshippers.

"They were given some sort of assurance they would return after the war but of course that was never honoured and a lot of them did feel quite let down and betrayed," Neil Skelton, custodian of St Giles Church, said.

"A lot of them had to either go and stay with relatives, or just go to the nearest town and ask the council to be rehoused, so it must have been quite a distressing time for them," he added.

The church doors are only opened to the public a few times each year, when the Ministry of Defence allows special access on its roads across Salisbury Plain.

Roads accessing the village opened on Friday 29 December and will remain open until 8am on Tuesday 2 January 2024.

One visitor said: "We live very nearby, and it's a great opportunity to come and see this extraordinary place which has been left empty for so long."

"We're just fascinated by it really — we're just thinking about the people who used to live here," another added.