NEWPORT council will close several city roads to traffic this weekend for a commemoration service to mark the anniversary of the Normandy Landings.

The temporary closures will be in place on Saturday, June 3.

Bridge Street, Cambrian Road, and High Street will all be shut to vehicles that day while a "D-Day Landings Parade and Service" is held in the city centre.

Newport's D-Day memorial is located at the top of High Street, opposite the entrance to the Market Arcade.

South Wales Argus: British forces during the invasion of Normandy, June 6 1944. Picture: Crown copyright/No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Midgley (Sgt)British forces during the invasion of Normandy, June 6 1944. Picture: Crown copyright/No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Midgley (Sgt)

Thousands of Allied servicemen died on June 6, 1944 - known as D-Day - when a massive attacking force crossed the English Channel to invade Hitler's so-called Fortress Europe.

Amphibious landings at five beachheads in Normandy, northern France, combined with airborne assaults further inland, opened up a second front in the European theatre and paved the way for the liberation of France from Nazi Germany's grip.

The landings, along heavily fortified coastline, came at a cost - more than 4,000 Allied servicemen are estimated to have died on the first day of the offensive.