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World War Two soldiers were spotted invading a beach in Devon on Saturday - and they will be back again in the summer.

Re-enactment group First Wave 44 went through their paces on Saunton Sands as they prepare for an assault on enemy lines during D-Day celebrations in Devon this June.

They will be joining living history groups from around the country to mark the 75th anniversary of the Assault Training Center.

(Image: Rob Tibbles)

Between 1943 and 1944, the facility used the dunes of Braunton Burrows and the beaches of Saunton and Woolacombe to train more than 10,000 American troops for the D-Day invasion.

As well as skirmish re-enactments, fly-bys and beach landings by military aircraft, Saunton D-Day celebrations on June 2 and 3 will see one of the largest mobilisations of World War Two military vehicles ever seen in the South West.

Over 140 vehicles including three tanks, will converge on Saunton Beach on the Saturday.

(Image: Rob Tibbles)

One of the event organisers, Richard Bass, from Friends of the Assault Training Center, said: "We are looking forward to what promises to be a spectacular event to commemorate a very significant part of Devon's wartime history.

"The beaches of North Devon played a key role in D-Day."



Paul Tamlyn of SBE, who manage Saunton Sands beach, said: "We are very excited to be hosting such a large D-day event.

(Image: Rob Tibbles)

"Over two days we will have living history re-enactments, fun historical activities for all the family and probably the largest convoy if military vehicles seen on the beach since the Second World War."

More information about the celebrations is available on the event's website .