A highly decorated war veteran from Burton who took part in the D-Day landings has told of his role in the D-Day landings - and says he wants to blot out most of his memories.

Austin Norfolk, 93, who lives at the Chestnut Grange assisted living centre on Anglesey Street, was just 18 when he took part in the pivotal Normandy landings which led to the liberation of France and western Europe from German occupation.

The veteran, who was awarded France's highest military honour for his bravery in the campaign to free the nation from the Nazis, admits he wants to forget most of the horrors of 75 years ago.

He said: "Ships were blowing up and people on the beach were dead, by the time we got there they were not doing well, some had been killed, some hadn't.

"It was terrible, I was just 18 then, and they were all about the same age as me and some were younger.

"It wasn't as bad as the first landing, but it was bad enough."

Austin Norfolk during his Second World War service

The veteran joined his Canadian comrades on Juno beach after the initial attack secured a beachhead and did his duty while still under fire from the German defences.

He described the sights and sounds of the battle. "I heard explosions and gunfire, I was lucky to come back.

"It was my own fault I volunteered.

"I didn't regret it, even though I was scared, I want to forget most of it; they weren't happy memories."

Austin Norfolk during his Second World War service

Following the landings, the seaman and his unit moved on to the port city of Caen, Normandy, where fierce fighting resulted in the near total destruction of the city.

The hero said: "I was lucky to come back, I saw a lot of things like people hit by bombs and shells, it was a war.

"Where I was there was a tower with a sniper in it, they weren't nice, they had to get him with a machine gun."

Austin Norfolk as a young man

He served as a navy engineer aboard an LST-2 landing ship, where he repaired vehicles and other equipment damaged during the fighting.

He said: "They called us stokers, I served on the LST landing ship and was made into an engineer.

"We were on the ship offshore waiting for the second landing to repair vehicles.

"When we went ashore we did what we had to do and sent things back to the ship to fix."

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He then spent the rest of the war in various ports in France, the Netherlands and Germany to provide engineering support to frontline troops - he had never left the United Kingdom before the war.

At the end of the war, Mr Norfolk and his ship were stationed in the German port of Kiel, which had been used to build warships and U-boats during the war.

He said: "We were all just glad it was over, we wanted to get home. I was happy to see my family again and they were happy to see me.

"I suppose I'm proud of what I did during the war."

Austin Norfolk's Legion of Honor Medal

Mr Norfolk has received three medals for his service during the conflict, the George medal, the France and Germany star, and in 2015 was awarded the medal of the Légion d'honneur, France's highest military honour, which was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.

The former engineer's wife Lillian, who married him in 1951 and also lives at Chestnut Grange, said: "I didn't know him during the war, we met at a dance in Bramley, near Leeds.

"But I was really proud when he got his medal in 2015."

His granddaughter Sarah, 40, from Burton, said commemorations for D-Day had been "really good this year."

She said: "I didn't think it would be this big, I'm so proud of him, there's not many left, I don't know anyone else who has met a D-Day veteran.

"It's a very important part of history, we wouldn't be the culture we are without them.

"You don't realise how bad it was until you speak to them and see footage from the time."

Terry Finn, 88, of the Alrewas branch of the Royal British Legion, said: "I've been connected with the armed services all my life, I was born into the RAF, my father served in North Africa and Italy.

"To me, being an ex-serviceman, it's so important for people to remember the suffering these people went through, not just the men, also their wives and families.

"I know people from school whose father died, it was difficult to understand their suffering."

Mr Norfolk found his way to Burton after going into the haulage business with his uncle after the war.