A local war hero who faced a lonely, quiet Christmas, has been overwhelmed by kindness and festive messages from around the world.

World War Two veteran Ted Owens of Pembroke Dock has been inundated with cards, gifts, visitors and telephone calls after an appeal went out on social media to help make his Christmas special.

Mark Llewhellin was keen to avoid 93 year-old Mr Owens being lonely at this time of year, and posted a message on Facebook asking people to get in touch, stating: “If anyone wants to send him a card or anything or you want to call, he said he'd love to hear from you. Everyone makes a difference.”

Hundreds of people, from the local area and around the globe, responded within hours, and Mr Owens has spent mornings opening mountains of mail.

Mr Owens told the Western Telegraph he was ‘over the moon’ at the reaction, and was very grateful to his friend Mark for his efforts, and to everyone who got in touch.

He said: “Christmas would have been very quiet otherwise. I can’t get over it, I’ve had hundreds of messages, even from Australia.

“It’s been absolutely marvellous, I’m having a wonderful time.”

The decorated war hero still prizes his independence, and claims to be ‘fit as a fiddle’ despite being wounded in action three times. He was badly wounded on D-Day and was injured by a piece of bullet in his windpipe while serving on an island off the Dutch coast on another occasion. However, he continues to visit army camps and commando schools throughout the UK.

The festive season now looks set to be a busy time for Mr Owens, who is expecting numerous visitors, and is now looking forward to Christmas day.

“It’s really made my Christmas.”