SECOND World War veterans from the North-East are about to embark on trips to the battlefields where they served.

The Big Lottery Fund has announced further awards under its £15m Heroes Return project.

Payments will be given to 839 veterans, spouses, widows and carers allowing them to travel overseas to remember comrades who did not return from the battlefields of the 1939-1945 conflict.

Fourteen Heroes Return awards were announced in the region, bringing the number of people in the North-East receiving grants since the scheme was launched last year to 1,057.

There have also been payments as part of the £12.3m Home Front Recall scheme, a joint initiative from the Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund, which supports activities commemorating the part played by those on the home front during the war.

Among those from the North-East being awarded this month are Jonathan Straughan, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, and The Elmtree Park Community Association, in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool.

Mr Straughan, 81, served with the 49th West Riding Infantry Reconnaissance Regiment, landing in Normandy.

The Elmtree Park Community Association has been awarded £10,000 to hold a street party to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of war.

Project organiser Terri Anne Lawson said: "The support our association has received will put the residents of Elmtree Park and Seaton Carew firmly on the map during this special commemorative year."

For more information, log on to the Big Lottery Fund's Veterans Reunited web page www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/ veterans.

There are links to Home Front Recall events and further information on Veterans Awareness Week.