Tributes have been paid to Dinas Powys D-Day veteran, Idwal Symonds, who has passed away aged 97.

The news was confirmed on the "Dinas Powys By-Pass and Local Issues" Facebook page, in a post that read:

"I am very sorry to inform you that Dinas Powys' very own D-Day veteran Idwal Symonds, has passed away aged 97."

"Our deepest sympathies are with Carole, Ian and the rest of his family."

In 2019, Idwal was interviewed by ITV Wales , where he recalled the beach landing where the air was "humming with bullets".

''The scale of the operation came home to me on the day before D-Day'' Idwal said.

''When I got up in the morning and looked out the Solent and the Spithead running up into Southampton and Portsmouth was packed with boats, packed.''

When Idwal, aged just 19, and his comrades arrived onshore they were met with an insurmountable concrete wall. They were forced to go around the obstacle in the face of intense gunfire.

As the fighting continued, Idwal and his company had no choice but to surrender in a cornfield. Orders from Adolf Hitler were that any commandos captured behind enemy lines should be shot.

Idwal argued the order did not apply to them as they had not crossed enemy lines. He then faced an agonising wait, as the Nazi soldiers relayed this back to HQ, to decide his fate.

His company were allowed to go but Idwal was captured as Prisoner of War.

He spent a year in a Polish POW camp in terrible conditions and with little food. Idwal weighed 12st when he was first captured, and lost half his bodyweight by the time he was freed, by another Welsh soldier.

''It was a Welsh Guards tank and a chap from Beaumaris, which was only a few miles from my home.''

In spite of his gruelling ordeal, Idwal said he would not change a thing about his time at war but hoped future generations would not face the same situation.

Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns said: "Very sad news to hear of the passing of Vale D-Day veteran Idwal Symonds. Idwal was a true war hero and will be sadly missed."

Whilst the Barry and Area RBL Poppy Appeal said: