Eastleigh'S D-Day veterans will not have to cross the Channel to remember those comrades who never returned with them from the front line.

Bosses at the town's Brookwood Avenue cemetery have planted a mulberry tree where old soldiers and generations who owed their freedom to the war heroes will be able to gather to remember those who laid down their lives on the beaches of Normandy.

The tree memorial, which is close to a row of war graves, was the brainchild of cemetery groundsman Ian Travers, 35, who suggested the idea to his bosses.

In front of the tree will be a plaque with the inscription "To commemorate D-Day June 6 1944 - 60 years on."

Ian says creating the area to mark the D-Day milestone had been very much a team effort by cemetery staff.

He said: "It is perfect timing to plant a tree next to the war graves. It is somewhere for those veterans who may not be able to travel to France for the anniversary can come to pay their respects."

On Friday, June 4 at 3pm there will be service of dedication when the Eastleigh, Chandler's Ford and district branch of the Royal British Legion will be presenting their standards and the sounding of the Last Post.

Branch chairman Norman Brown is delighted that a memorial has been created. He said: "It is something for the future and will keep the memories going."

Ian has always taken a keen interest in wartime history through his family links. His great uncle, Thomas Godwin was among the crew who died in October 1939 when HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat.

Thomas, a leading telegraphist, was among 833 who perished in the disaster.

On Sunday, June 6 Royal British Legion members from the Eastleigh area will be saluting those D-Day heroes again with a town centre parade, starting at 2.15pm followed by a service at All Saints Church at 3pm.