The descendant of a war hero has bought his great-uncle's Victoria Cross and other medals for £840,000 so they can be shared with the public.

Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza paid a world record price for the collection at auction 100 years after the VC was awarded to Vice Admiral Gordon Campbell.

Campbell was captain of the "Q-Ship" Farnborough and successfully destroyed a German submarine U.83 on February 17 1917.

His complete group of 11 medals also included the DSO with two bars and France's prestigious Legion d'Honneur Chevalier's badge, and Croix de Guerre, 1914-1918.

The collection, which set a new world auction record for a VC and any group of British medals, will now stay in the UK on public display.