A 95-YEAR-OLD great-great-granddad says he is “extremely proud” to be awarded France’s most prestigious award for his part in the D-Day landings.

RAF veteran Dennis Firth from Eccleston was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by the French president Emmanuel Macron.

It was sent to him for his part in helping to free the country from the grip of Nazi Germany during the Second World War on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

He was given the the medal on Sunday, during a private ceremony in Christ Church in Eccleston by ward councillor Geoff Pearl, alongside the congregation and his wife Majorie, 91.

Dennis, who also served as a policeman in St Helens for 25 years following service in Pakistan and Malta as part the Royal Air Force after the Second World War, said: “I am extremely proud to be awarded this medal which I got for flying over Normandy in the night and dropping 16 parachutists and a 18 machine gun attachment.

“I was only 23 at the time and though I knew there was things happening around me, I didn’t witness any of it because we were up in the air. We took off at 11.45pm on the last day of the war.

“However, I feel great pride to receive this because it happened some time ago now.

“I know my family are proud of me as well, which is lovely to know.”

The Legion d’Honneur is the highest decoration in France and was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.

The award is restricted to French nationals and foreign nationals who have served France or the ideals it upholds.