A WAD of French francs which saved a D-Day soldier from a bullet to the heart have been uncovered by his daughter.

Tom Thornton was with a platoon of soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy as the battle to liberate occupied Europe began.

Machine guns rattled around the soldiers' ears and Tom was cut down in a hail of bullets.

As he regained his senses after being wounded in the feet and chest, he realised his wallet had shielded him from a lethal shot to the heart.

Now his daughter, Anne Wilkinson, has stumbled over two long-lost French banknotes which the wallet contained, complete with a neat bullet hole from the German gunfire.

Badly injured, Tom was taken from France to a military hospital in Wales, where he steadily recovered.

Anne, 57, said: "It's amazing. He had shrapnel in his chest and he was also shot in the foot, but the bullet that could've killed him ricocheted off his wallet and he had all this French money in it.

"He was a very quiet man and didn't say much about the war, but we heard all about it from my mam.

"It's fascinating to see the notes."

Anne and husband Tom recovered the old 20 Franc and 100 Cent notes when sorting through the belongings of Tom Thornton's wife, Lily, who died last month.

Tom, who served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers, died four years ago in his home in Wallsend, North Tyneside, aged 86.

Anne also uncovered Tom's service and pay book, detailing his wartime duties, and a telegram message which carried news of the birth of his first daughter, Marion.

"My dad always had to have money with him, and I suppose that was because of this. Maybe he felt it would bring him luck," said Anne, who lives in Holywell, Northumberland.

"He was a great one for collecting and saving little bits and pieces."

Tom did not fight again after his D-Day ordeal, and returned to Tyneside to work as a bus driver based at a depot in Byker, Newcastle.