A FORMER Fleet Air Arm helicopter pilot who saved four SAS men in a dramatic rescue in the Borneo jungle during the Indonesian confrontation in the 1960s has agreed to lay a wreath on Remembrance Day at Mary Steven's Park, Stourbridge.

Retired Lieutenant Commander Paul Barton, who was awarded the MBE towards the end of a distinguished 34-year career in the Royal Navy , will lay the wreath on behalf of the Stourbridge UKip branch.

He said: “I will do this not as any form of political gesture but as a mark of respect for those who fell, and those whom I knew, and for those who are still facing danger daily in Afghanistan. The wreath is from a group of citizens who place love of their country and its freedom above all else."

Mr Barton, aged 72, once a life-long Conservative, became disillusioned with the Coalition's handling of defence and on May 3 he took his frustration to the ballot box and stood for UKip - coming third and beating the Lib Dem candidate into fourth place in the Norton election.