A group of soldiers cycled from their Suffolk base to help commemorate a Second World War operation immortalised in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far.

A dozen engineers from Rock Barracks, near Woodbridge, made a 150-mile cycling pilgrimage for the 70th anniversary of Operation Market Garden – which involved the largest ever airborne invasion and ended with the deaths of 1,500 British soldiers.

The cycling sappers from 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) set off on Tuesday, raising money for military charity SSAFA on the way to the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem, where paratroopers fought resistance for nine days before withdrawing in September 1944.

Almost 6,500 British soldiers were captured in the battle, which resulted in five Victoria Crosses being awarded.