Eastleigh shops have been criticised for paying more attention to Euro 2004 than D-Day.

Borough resident Jane Amery claims stores should have put on window displays commemorating Operation Overlord, the Allied landings in Normandy 60 years ago.

Mrs Amery is a descendant of a family of German Jewish refugees who came to Britain to escape the Nazis during the Second World War.

But she singled out Market Street charity shop, the Shaw Trust, for special praise for its window display.

She said: "None of the shops in Eastleigh seem to be commemorating D-Day apart from the Shaw Trust and I think shopkeepers should put on some displays.

"I should imagine lots of families living in the area were actually involved in the war and that they are quite miffed that no one made a lot of effort."

Mrs Amery, of Southampton Road, Eastleigh, who is in her 40s added: "The shops are doing nothing but football and the war is far more important."

Audrey Hamilton, manager of the Shaw Trust shop - which raises money for the charity which aims to get disabled and disadvantaged people back into employment - said she thought it was only right that an event such as D-Day should be commemorated.

She said: "It is a huge event and it means so much to all the people that did fight in the war and their families."

She said a lot of people had commented on the window display and many who had bought historical books which formed part of the display had agreed to leave them in situ until after the weekend.

But Eastleigh town centre manager Dennis Chandler told the Daily Echo: "It is not so much a question of ignoring D-Day but more how it fits in with the range of stock and the promotional policies of different companies."

He added: "As far as the multiples are concerned, individual managers don't have the dispensation to mount their own promotions.

"While D-Day is pertinent to the whole country, but particularly to the south, clearly they have focused on the forthcoming football as part of their national campaigns."

He said: "It is easier for a charity shop to cobble something together."