D-DAY veteran and Saints fan of more than 80 years Raymond Rush received a standing ovation as he walked out to present the match ball ahead of Friday's game.

At half time he was presented with the Chevalier on the Ordre National de le Legion d'honneur by chairman Eamonn McManus - an honour that France bestows on those who risked their lives to liberate their country from the Nazis during World War II.

Raymond, who was born in Prescot in 1923, joined the 1st Battalion of the South Lancashire regiment in September 1942.

He was part of the first wave landing on Sword Beach, Normandy on 6 June, 1944 and saw action in France, Holland and Belgium and finished up in Croatia.

He was demobbed in 1948 and returned to St Helens, where he set up as a pig farmer before going on to work at Greenalls brewery.

At half time Steve Leonard, from the Saints Foundation, McManus signed the Armed Forces Covenant to show the club's support on the week where Armed Services Day was celebrated.