A permanent memorial has been erected to those who were killed in one of the worst naval disasters of the Second World War.

The tribute to the 836 men who died when HMS Neptune and HMS Kandahar hit mines and sank off the Libyan coast on December 19, 1941, is located at the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield, Staffordshire.

The memorial, a seven ft pyramid of Derbyshire stone, includes the names of all those who lost their lives.

The disaster was the Royal Navy's most substantial loss of life in the entire Mediterranean campaign and one of the heaviest on the seas anywhere in the war.

It was also the single largest loss of life of New Zealand and South African nationals, who were part of the ships' crew.

Only one man, able seaman Norman Walton, survived the sinking. He was picked up by an Italian torpedo boat five days later.

Mr Walton, who died earlier this year aged 84, went on to become president of the Neptune Association, which is dedicated to the memory of those who died.

Individuals serving on board both ships are already commemorated on memorials in north Africa, South Africa, New Zealand and the UK.

But the new memorial, which will be officially unveiled at a ceremony on July 9, will be the first time they are recognised in one place.