Nearly 65 years after the end of the second world war former chief stoker Norman Ibbs has been honoured for his work.

Mr Ibbs, 84, was presented with the UK Merchant Seafarers Veteran’s Badge on Sunday at Avon Court nursing home in Rowden Hill.

He said: “I was very proud to be given the badge.

“It felt great to have my family here all together and it was a surprise – I was thinking ‘what are they all doing here?’.”

The grandfather-of-four, who was born in Stoke on Trent, joined the Merchant Navy as a stoker in his late teens, after serving in the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry.

“I worked down the mines for four years and then joined the army,” he said. “When I came out I went back down the mines and I thought ‘forget this’, and I went to Liverpool to join the Merchant Navy.

“They said I was just the man for the job.”