D-DAY veterans are looking forward to returning to Normandy for the 60th anniversary celebrations.

A group of 46 members of the Normandy Veterans Pilgrimage Club, 20 of whom saw action in the assault on Nazi-held Europe, will make the trip to France.

They visited Durham Town Hall to see Mayor Mary Hawgood before they left. They will lay a wreath on behalf of the city during a ceremony in Bayeaux.

The club members, mostly from Durham and Tyneside, include chairman Gill Thompson, 78, of Meadowfield, who was an acting Sergeant Major with the Oxon and Bucks Light Infantry, and Charlie Turnbull, 86, of Carrville, who was a Corporal with the Durham Light Infantry.

Mr Thompson said: "It is very emotional when you go over there. The trouble is that all the people you knew have different faces."

Andrew Gavagan, the club's historian, said the group would spend six days in Normandy and hoped to attend some of the VIP events.

They will visit the war cemetery at Bayeux, where Mr Turnbull will lay a wreath on behalf of the DLI and the DLI Association. Mr Thompson will lay the wreath on behalf of the people and the Mayor of Durham.

* Every day next week, The Northern Echo will publish two pages of features marking the anniversary of the D-Day landings.