Funeral of Harry Patch, last survivor of World War 1, at Wells Cathedral

All available tickets for the funeral of WWI veteran Harry Patch at Wells Cathedral have now been issued. For a full version of this article, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/8179275.stm

Mr Patch, who was born in 1898 in Combe Down, near Bath, was Britain's last surviving soldier who fought in the trenches during the Great War.

Harry Patch, a Christian and a pacifist, died on Saturday at a care home in Wells aged 111.

Last Thursday's service will began at noon. Three-quarters of the 1,050 tickets were allocated to personal callers at the cathedral offices.

The remainder were made available by post.

BBC Somerset correspondent Clinton Rogers said by the time the office doors opened at 0930 BST on Friday about 400 people were queuing up outside.

Trevor Matcham, from Bath, camped out on Cathedral Green overnight to make sure he could get a ticket.

"I just wanted to come and say a personal thank you to Harry and to everybody else, all those millions of people who gave their lives to make Europe and this country the safe and free place that it is for us to live in," he said.