A 109-year-old veteran of the First World War has paid a visit to the site where he fought and to pay homage to his fellow soldiers.

Harry Patch is the last known British survivor of the First World War trenches and fought at Flanders in Belgium at the Battle of Passchendaele.

Aged just 19, Mr Patch, of Wells, Somerset, lost three friends in the battle, which claimed 250,000 British casualties and 250,000 German lives, and was injured himself by a shell that exploded nearby.

The 99-day Battle of Passchendaele cost 70,000 British lives and Mr Patch fought as part of the Duke of Cornwall's light infantry, having previously worked in Bath as an apprentice plumber before receiving his call up papers.

Attending a 90th anniversary service ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Mr Patch said that he found it "incredible" that he was now the only survivor of so many thousands of people.

The last surviving Tommy laid a wreath at the site of the trench in which he fought, now part of a German war cemetery, and paid tribute to both his comrades and described war as "a terrible waste".

Born on June 17th 1898, Harry, or Henry, Patch was a private during the Third Battle of Ypres and later worked as both a plumber and fireman.