STABLES used by US troops of the famous Easy Company as they prepared for D-Day have been dismantled.

Now the six corrugated steel structures, which stood in the centre of Aldbourne, are being stored at an undisclosed location waiting to be fumigated and shipped to Taccoa, in Georgia the home of the legendary fighting unit where they will form part of a lasting memorial to the men who helped liberate Europe.

Many of those who slept in the stables never returned from the Normandy beaches.

The company, which formed part of 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment, was immortalised in the Stephen Spielberg-produced TV drama Band Of Brothers.

"It was a tough job and the most usual one I have done in 30 years in the trade," said Keith Sowerby, 69, of Aldbourne-based furniture makers, Sowerby and Son.

"The problem was extracting the nails. In the end we had to saw through them."

Prior to dismantling, the team drew a plan of each structure, so they will know how it slots together again.