US air force photos of England at war available to public for first time

Thousands of images from second world war include bomb damage to Old Trafford and troops at leisure

Black-and-white aerial photographs offering a bird's eye view of England as it changed during the second world war are being made available to the public for the first time.

The 3,600 images include pictures of bomb damage to Old Trafford in Greater Manchester, as well as other towns and cities. They also show ancient monuments surrounded by anti-tank defences in West Sussex, and troops at play at a US army camp in Wiltshire.