The first permanent memorial to the British soldiers who sacrificed their lives on D-Day in Normandy has been approved by French authorities, The Telegraph can reveal.

Work can now start at the site in Ver-sur-Mer just nine weeks before it hosts an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day on June 6.

Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to lay the foundation stone and unveil its centrepiece, three nine-foot figures of British infantry soldiers coming ashore.

The project was delayed by protests from local residents who claimed it would destroy the view of the sea and the car park and coach loads of tourists would damage the environment.

Maxi Krause, a retired university professor, lead a group of 50 people in a march around the 47-acre site in January this year saying the memorial was “monstrous” and “completely stupid.”

The plans were approved on April 3 by the highest state official in the region, Laurent FISCUS, préfet du Calvados, after a public was launched following the complaints.