Europe's oldest man is celebrating his 112th birthday with a flypast from the RAF.

Henry Allingham, who is also the last founding member of the RAF, has been invited to a VIP lunch at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire to witness the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. It will be followed by a parachute drop.

Eight of Mr Allingham's grandchildren and great grandchildren and their partners have flown from their homes in the US for the occasion.

And later this afternoon, 40 pupils from Cranwell Primary School will present him with a birthday cake on what is the 90th anniversary year of the RAF.

Mr Allingham said: "I'm a lucky guy. I am looking forward to a wonderful day and to seeing the family. I just hope I don't let the side down. People ask me how I've done it, and I just say that I look forward to another tomorrow."

Mr Allingham is just one of three known UK survivors from the First World War.

The other two are ex-Royal Navy stoker Bill Stone, 107, who was born in Devon but now lives in Oxfordshire, and 109-year-old Harry Patch, who lives in Wells, Somerset, the last surviving Tommy to have served on the Western Front.

He has been awarded a string of accolades including the British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Legion d'honneur, France's highest military honour.