A SECOND World War veteran who was captured as a prisoner of war has died aged 99.

Grandfather-of-two Len Harley, who lived in Billericay, died last month after brief battle with illness.

More than 100 people attended his funeral service, at Billericay Methodist Church and Chelmsford Crematorium, on Wednesday.

Paying tribute to him, his daughter, Chris Monaghan, 71, said: “He was a very kind and a very gentle man who loved his family.

“He was someone who was very involved with the church.

“He looked after himself and wanted to be independent. That’s what fuelled him on.

“He is a great loss to a lot of people.”

When Mr Harley was 24, he was captured in Libya and was held in Campo 78 in central Italy for more than two years.

When the Allies landed in the south of Italy in 1943, prison camps began to be abandoned, leaving thousands of prisoners locked in cells.

But Mr Harley, along with a small group of soldiers, including his best friend, Sgt Albert Nicholl, escaped and climbed nearby Monte Amaro in an attempt to reach Allied troops.

For six months, he and his group hid from Italian soldiers and were clothed, sheltered and fed by local citizens.

Mr Harley was particularly helped by Rosina Spinosa, a 19-year-old farmer’s daughter, who risked execution for helping him.

She spent five months supplying food for the group. They later reached Allied-controlled territory. Upon returning to England in 1944, Mr Harley married his wife, Win, and became father to Chris two years later.

More recently, Mr Harley was the focus of an episode of the Channel 4 documentary series, “WWII’s Great Escapes: The Freedom Trails”. The 2017 show saw explorer, Monty Halls, follow his route over Monte Amaro.

During the documentary, Mr Harley was reunited with Mrs Spinosa and thanked her for saving his life. After working with him, Monty Halls paid tribute to Mr Harley. He tweeted: “I’m very sorry to say that Len Harley – whose remarkable story features in the second episode of Freedom Trails, has passed away. We are so pleased that he reunited with Rosina towards the end of his life. It was our privilege to meet you Len.”