A BOOK about a Worcester World War Two veteran's time as a Japanese prisoner of war has been published in China.

Fred Seiker, of Raven Drive, St Peter's, has had his book, Let We Forget, translated into Mandarin and introduced to the country as a historical memoir and document at one of the biggest book events in the world - the Beijing International Book Fair.

The 98-year-old originally wrote the book telling of the horrors of being captured by the Japanese to work on the Thai-Burma railway in 1995, but after receiving a salute for his work from the Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming, Lest We Forget - Life As A Japanese Prisoner Of War has now received worldwide critical acclaim.

Mr Seiker said: "The publisher in Beijing asked me whether I would agree to do the book in Chinese and it was first published at the end of July.

"The excitement of the book in Chinese is well and truly underway and it is receiving acclaims which I never expected. At he time I did not realise the impact it would have on the Chinese - that I did not consider - but after I got the letter from the ambassador, I realised the historic significance."

Mr Xiaoming has condemned the Japanese primeminster Shinzo Abe for re-militarising the country and attempting to 'airbrush' the past, refusing to face up to Japan's actions during the war. Mr Seiker said the publishing of the book in China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will help keep the actual events in the public eye not just in Britain and China, but also in the other 30 countries where the book has been sold via Amazon.

"This is not just my experience but that of my comrades," Mr Seiker said. "The Japanese are denying it all happened and they have changed the system to reflect that. The school children there are not learning about the war - apparently it never happened to them.

"The world knows about my book but we haven't a clue what the sale are going to be at the book fair and in China, but this huge publishing company (The People's Publishing House) in Beijing would not be doing what they are doing otherwise."

About 200,000 people from 56 countries are expected to see Mr Seiker's book at the Beijing International Fair, which started today.

And there's even talk of the book being made into a film.

"I never imagine it being a film - little me becoming world famous, not bad is it," Mr Seiker added.

Lest We Forget is available to buy on Amazon.co.uk in English and Mandarin.