A flotilla of small boats arrived in Dunkirk 75 years on from their first cross-Channel voyage to rescue thousands of allied troops from the beaches of northern France in the early days of the Second World War.

Some 50 vessels took part in the re-enactment and on board were several veterans of the first crossing which saved 338,000 troops from the advancing Nazi army.

Leaving Kent earlier in the day, the boats - all over 70 years old - were escorted by ships from Britain's Royal Navy and by the lifeboat service and met by locals who lined the quayside.

A group of boats returns to Dunkirk every five years but the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships said that this year's event would be the biggest.

Queen Elizabeth's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, made the voyage to Dunkirk where he laid a wreath at the town hall and signed the visitor's book.

The boats will remain in the French port town until Monday, with festivities planned throughout the weekend.

The original evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, saw hundreds of small boats take part, ferrying British and French troops from the shallow, sandy beaches out to larger vessels waiting further out to sea.