Irreplaceable books donated by the American nation to an English village decimated in a wartime disaster have disappeared.

The books contain messages of condolence from the Americans to the villagers of Freckleton, Lancashire, following the crash in 1944.

The pilot of an American air force Liberator bomber lost control of his aircraft as he tried to land at Warton airbase.

The bomber crashed into Freckleton primary school killing 61 people including 38 children in the classrooms.

Only three pupils survived.