Proposals to build thousands of new houses on an airfield that was home to American soldiers who contributed to D Day is an "insult", campaigners say.

Andrewsfield in Essex was the first airfield constructed by the US Air Force in England during the Second World War and from 1942 - 1945 it was home to the 322d Bomb Group who attacked coastal defences on D Day.

However campaigners have warned that the airfield is under threat by the North Essex Garden Communities project, a proposal by the local council to build 10,000 new homes.

Andrewsfield falls within an “area of search” for the project, which the council stressed is in its “very early stages.”

Dr Mike Frost, a local anesthetist leading the campaign to stop the development, said: “I think it’s very insulting. We wouldn’t walk down Normandy in France and expect to see a load of brand new houses built there, somewhere so significant, so I don’t see why it should happen here.

“It is an important monument to the airman who helped us in our darkest hour and it should be preserved for future generations.”