A special memorial service has been held to commemorate 75 years since the Ridgewell Airfield disaster.

Members of the Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Association Museum came together to remember the 24 people who tragically lost their lives when a bomb accidentally exploded at the airfield in June 1943.

Among the dead were a number of American soldiers and British civilian John Hunwick.

To mark the 75 years since the tragedy, volunteers and members of the museum came together for a special service on Sunday.

Photographs of the dead were laid out in front of the museum’s memorial and bagpipes were also played to mark the occasion.

The service, which was led by chairman Paul Bingley, featured a minute’s silence and also included a brief film which recounted the tragedy.

Mr Bingley said: “It was a beautiful day and a really nice service.

“We perhaps didn’t have as many turn up as we wanted but it was very quiet which was quite poignant.

“We weren’t able to get all of the photographs of the victims but we had some help from people in America and were able to track down quite a few.

“It was 24 people of all colours and creed who were killed and it was only their second day of operations so it really was a terrible accident.”

The museum is hosting an open day on Sunday, July 8.

For more information, visit www.rafcamuseum.co.uk.