THE family of an airman who lost his life in the Second World War has paid an emotional visit to the French village that still honours his bravery.

Nearly sixty years after Sgt Robert Hudson was killed with six other men when his Lancaster bomber was shot down over Ugny-sur-Meuse, near Nancy, his 84-year-old sister attended a moving ceremony in their memory.

Sarah Jones and her daughter, Patricia Tricker, were warmly welcomed by the mayor of the small community after travelling across the Channel to witness the service which locals make a point of staging each year.

Sgt Hudson, an air gunner who had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal just days before his death, is buried in the communal cemetery along with five other Britons and one Canadian.

Ms Tricker, of Crakehall, near Bedale, who first visited the area last year to see the grave and further research her uncle's wartime exploits, said it had been an overwhelming experience.

"The local people hold a ceremony every year on VE Day and we were absolutely thrilled to be there," she said.

"My mother found it very moving. He was her younger brother and she always said what a nice boy he was, so to go there after all these years was unbelievable."

Mrs Jones, who now lives in Stockton, laid flowers at the grave and both she and her daughter stayed with the parents-in-law of mayor Bernard Marchand.

Sgt Hudson, who was 21 when he died, was returning from a successful mission in Germany when the Lancaster was shot down on April 27, 1944.