ON parade!

Delighted old soldier Walter Jones was in for a real treat when he went to his local to celebrate his 80th birthday.

He is pictured (front, centre) with pub landlady June Kenyon (right), and friend Vera Brierley and pals from the Royal British Legion.

A salute from the Legion was just one of the many emotional moments for Walter at his surprise birthday party.

It was the last thing he was expecting when he went to the Ram's Head pub in Stand Lane, Radcliffe, on Tuesday (Nov 4) for his usual pint.

His wife Jean (64) and his friend Vera Brierley (68) had spent weeks plotting a landmark birthday.

"I was totally overwhelmed. It was out of this world," said Walter, who is the vice-chairman of the Bury branch of the Royal British Legion.

When members of Radcliffe British Legion marched into the pub, complete with standard bearer, and gave him a salute, Walter was overcome with emotion.

"With it being so close to Remembrance Sunday, it made it all the more poignant," he said.

Walter, of Nuttall Street, Bury, was a Lancashire Fusilier and participated in the Normandy Landings in the Royal Engineers in the Second World War.