‘Great escape’ war hero dies

A SECOND World War veteran whose heroism was immortalised in the classic film The Great Escape has died, aged 97.

Alex Lees was a prisoner at the notorious Nazi camp Stalag Luft III in March 1944 when scores of Allied servicemen tried to flee.

The pensioner, who spent his last years at a home for ex-service personnel in Erskine, Renfrewshire, was a gardener at the camp and helped prepare the tunnels used in the escape.