A MILITARY veteran has spoken of his devastation after losing his prized medals on “the best day of the year” - Remembrance Sunday.

Retired Warrant Officer Class 2, Dale Gibson, 51, had marked the special day by taking part in a parade in his hometown of Newton Aycliffe before catching up with old friends, fellow serving and former servicemen and women.

On his way home from the Iron Horse pub and the town centre at about 10pm, the grandfather noticed his four medals had gone missing.

“They were in my blazer pocket, I must have pulled my gloves out and must have pulled the medals out too,” said WO Gibson. “Two of them had my name and rank on them.

"I can get them replaced but to me my whole world just fell apart when I realised I had lost them. I couldn’t see because I was so sick to the stomach.”

WO Gibson, a production supervisor at Gestamp, spent 23 years in the Territorial Army and retired in 2014.

In 2014 he was presented by then Prime Minister Tony Blair with the Iraq Campaign Medal, for a six month stint of active service, which is now gone along with a Voluntary Reserves Service Medal and two handed out to members of the British Armed Forces to commemorate the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee.

The veteran retraced his steps with no luck.

“They aren’t worth much but are worth a million pounds to me,” added WO Gibson.

He is offering a small reward to anybody who finds and hands them in.

He asks that if found, his medals are handed in to Newton Aycliffe Police Station.