A 95-year-old D-Day veteran is losing patience after two years of waiting to receive a prestigious service medal.

Thomas Campbell, who lives at Hawkshead, is eligible for the Legion D’Honneur award for his service in the June 6 1944 Normandy landings. The honour is the highest decoration given in France.

In 2014, as part of the 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord, the government of France informed the Ministry of Defence that it wished to award the Legion d’Honneur to all surviving veterans who contributed. But it would not be awarded posthumously.

However, after endless correspondence to the MOD, Mr Campbell, who served with the 7th Armoured Division – The Desert Rats – is yet to receive his medal.

Mr Campbell, who also served at El Alamein and was involved in the Salerno landings as part of the Allied invasion of Italy, has become frustrated at his wait for the award.

"The reason why it's important is that the French government said they were going to give it every man that served in Normandy and we want to get it. It's a medal," he said. "My friends have got theirs and I haven't mine.

"It's an honour, it's important to me."

Wife Sarah, 87, is equally frustrated, saying the entire family just wants him to get the medal he deserves.

"Time has gone on and on and Tom has since stopped rushing to the post every morning because it's been so long.

"It's been quite traumatic really. If nobody locally had been given it then we wouldn't feel quite so daunted by it all, he feels like he's been left out.

"I would be absolutely thrilled to bits to see him get it, the whole family wants to see this happen."

During the war, Mr Campbell, who grew up in Millom, was a sapper whose role was to detect and disarm enemy mines. He miraculously came through his service with the armed forces without any physical injuries after being called up at just 20 years of age.

"I was very, very lucky. I never suffered any wounds at all, it's incredibly fortunate."