The town council has launched an appeal for Maldon veterans of the Second World War to come forward to tell their stories.

On the 75th anniversary of the signing of the treaty that finally ended the war on 2 September, 1945, Maldon Town Council has put out the call for servicemen and women who took part in the 1939-1945 conflict. The plan is to record their first-hand stories as part of an online film to be released on the council's website on Remembrance Sunday (8 November).

The interviews will be added to footage of a socially distanced, but traditional service to be held at the war memorial in High Street, Maldon, where Mayor Abdul Hafiz will lay a wreath, the last post will be played and the names of all those from the town who fell in the war will be read out. The veterans will not be expected to take part in the Remembrance Day service at the memorial in order to protect them.

Town Clerk, Jane Coleman, said: "It is such a shame that the pandemic means we cannot hold our usual remembrance event in the town, where around 1,000 people often attend - especially in this year which marks the 75th anniversary of the war's end.

"We still want to do something special and it is so important for these stories to be told."

Veterans who come forward will be interviewed and recorded in an appropriately socially-distanced way in their own homes.

For more information call Jane Coleman on 01621 857373 on Mondays to Wednesdays or email the Town Clerk.