It's VE Day today and the region is celebrating as best it can the 75th anniversary of the Second World War's End in Europe.

It was on May 8 1945 that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced to an exhausted but relieved nation that almost six years of conflict, costing millions of lives, was at an end.

The news was the catalyst for jubilant celebrations of a size never before seen within these shores.

Many houses and other buildings have been decked out in red, white and blue flags and bunting.

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Street parties with trestle tables down the middle of the road are off due to social distancing rules, but picnics are planned on garden front lawns and folk are being encouraged to dress up in 1940s clothing and share pictures on social media of their attire and perhaps the retro meals they have prepared.

Everyone is also being urged to raise a glass in honour of the war heroes at 3pm and to step outside at 9pm to join in a special nationwide singalong of Dame Vera Lynn's classic wartime song We'll Meet Again.

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