WARTIME memories were recreated in Ramsbottom and Bury as the towns were transported back to the 1940s.

Thousands of visitors enjoyed the sixth annual Wartime Weekend, organised by the East Lancashire Railway.

And with the D-Day anniversary approaching, the event was all the more poignant for participants and on-lookers.

Members of the Friends of the 1940s Movement dressed in authentic costumes to recreate the essence of the Second World War, with youngsters acting as evacuees and adults in full uniform with replica weapons.

A mock battle, complete with sirens and the sound of gunfire, got the attention of visitors as members of the 82nd Airbourne Company took to the tracks at Ramsbottom station with their weapons.

A highlight of the weekend was a mock wedding set up by the World War Two Historical Society.

Wartime "couple" Ian Foster and Lorna Spurin took their vows in the remembrance garden of St Paul's Church, in Ramsbottom, watched by a crowd of well-wishers.

The ceremony was conducted by a real minister, Robert Airy, of Rossendale, and the bride went on to lay a wreath at the church's war memorial before the couple were driven by camouflage Jeep to their tea dance reception at Ramsbottom Civic Hall.

Organiser of the Wartime Weekend, Neil Parkington, of ELR said: "It has been absolutely brilliant. We have never done the mock wedding before, but it was terrific. It turned out to be the highlight of the weekend.

"This event takes place in Bury once a year but there are other similar events elsewhere in the country and it is our aim to spread the word.

"There is of course a serious side to it and that is to keep alive the history and memory of what the fallen did for this country. It is extra special this year because of the 60th anniversary of D-day."

The three-day celebrations culminated in a D-Day parade in Bury yesterday, involving modern-day servicemen and women and veterans.

The procession was supposed to assemble outside the town hall and make its way to Bolton Street Station but Mr Parkington said it had to be cut short due to the lack of police presence.