An Oxfordshire war veteran will return to the scene of the D-Day landings - thanks to Lottery funding.

Brian Sutton will visit Creully in France for the 60th anniversary of the event. His trip will be partly paid for by the Heroes Return Lottery-funded scheme.

Mr Sutton is a veteran of the armoured tank division, who helped liberate Creully during the Second World War. The people of the town maintain a memorial service for the former soldiers and every year Mr Sutton and members of his division return for a special service.

He said: "If the mayor and the people of Creully can continue to maintain our memorial then we should continue to go back, for as long as we can afford it and are fit enough to do so.

"The money from the Heroes Return scheme has greatly assisted us in this cause."

More than 700 war veterans, spouses, widows and carers from across the UK will benefit from a £246,000 grant which has been awarded to them by the Heroes Return scheme, through the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund. This summer, many veterans will travel to France and Northern Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Stephen Dunmore, chief executive of the New Opportunities Fund, said: "Today this country has an opportunity through the Heroes Return programme to acknowledge the immense debt we all owe to those who sacrificed so much to defeat fascism in the Second World War.

"Those who survived at the battle front have a special place in all our hearts, and assisting them with Lottery funding to revisit the places where they risked their young lives and saw their comrades fall is an important testimony to the enduring value of the freedom for which they fought."