CEREMONIAL flags fluttered in the breeze and a plane from RAF Brize Norton swooped low in a flypast as D-Day hero Denis Price said goodbye to this world.

Only a few days ago there was the fear the 89-years-old army veteran, one of the first to land on Gold Beach in June 1944, would have no-one at his funeral. He had died in St Richard's Hospice, Worcester, with no known family and less than a handful of friends.

But then one of them, Dormston Cook, contacted this newspaper and a few other media outlets and turned the simple Worcester Crematorium ceremony into a proper military send-off.

"It was absolutely incredible," said Mr Cook. "RAF Brize Norton got to hear about it and sent a Hercules aircraft to circle the crematorium three times in a flypast and also provided uniformed personnel for a guard of honour. The British Legion did us proud too, there were at least three standards from Legion branches within Worcestershire and I think a couple from outside the county. And there were some old soldiers as well. In all there were about 70 people at the funeral. It really just shows how amazing people can be."

The flowers accompanying the coffin were supplied by Ashley Challis, a friend of Mr Cook, and leading the mourners was Renee Price, a long time friend of Mr Price, who lives in Lea Bank Drive, Worcester.

"I must give such a big 'thank you' to everyone who came and everyone who helped," said Mr Cook. "I was worried Denis, who was such a super bloke, might go alone, but the response has been more than I could ever have hoped for."

As a 19-year-old soldier, Denis Price was among the first wave of troops to brave German machine guns and wade ashore on Gold Beach in an assault which saw more than 400 of his colleagues killed or wounded. Mr Price, who lived in the Bevere area of Worcester, survived the war and later enjoyed a successful career with car makers Rover at the Longbridge plant, where he rose to become chief buyer. But all his family had gone by the time he died in St Richard’s Hospice on September 26 .