Last British Dambuster George 'Johnny' Johnson receives Lord Mayor's Medal

Mr Johnson said the legendary Dambusters raid was the "greatest experience" of his service career

The last British survivor of the Dambusters raid has been presented with the Bristol Lord Mayor's Medal.

George "Johnny" Johnson, who is in his 90s, was just 22 when he took part in the 1943 air raid on German dams using experimental "bouncing" bombs.

The 1955 film - The Dam Busters - cemented its place as one of the most famous episodes of World War Two.

Mr Johnson, who lives in Westbury on Trym, received the honour from Lord Mayor Councillor Clare Campion-Smith.

A bomb aimer, he joined the newly formed 617 Squadron in March 1943.

'Greatest experience'

On 16 May of that year he was one of the 133-strong squadron who dodged anti-aircraft fire, power cables and mountainous terrain to drop the four-tonne skipping bomb on dams in the Ruhr Valley.

Codenamed Operation Chastise, eight of the 19 planes were lost, 53 men died and three were captured.

But the young sergeant survived the mission and has now been presented with a special Lord Mayor's Medal in recognition of his "work for his country".

"We had no idea of what the target was going to be until the day of the raid, when we did the briefing," he said.

"But it's something which I'll never forget - it must be the greatest experience of my service career."

Ms Campion-Smith said the Dambusters story was "one of the greatest tales of heroism in this country" and it was an "honour" to present the award to the Squadron Leader.

"The actions of all the men involved with Operation Chastise have become legend in the minds of the British public and a symbol of our country's heroism and technical ingenuity," she said.

"As a Bristol resident it is absolutely right that we as a city should honour and recognise his service to our country."